As the calendar flips to the new year, we’re closing the books on the 2024 election cycle. This November saw Republicans take back Senate control — but showed us ticket splitting is still alive and well. Ad spending once again broke records. And the incoming Senate is the most polarized ever.
Here are some of our key takeaways, trends and numbers from this year’s races.
1. The difference between a 53-seat GOP majority and a 55-seat one was less than 48,000 votes.
Democrats won the Michigan and Wisconsin Senate races by less than a point each. Nevada was decided by about 1.7 points.
When you add up the differences in just those two closest races in Wisconsin (28,781) and Michigan (19,006), fewer than 47,787 votes separated a GOP gain of four seats from a GOP gain of six seats.
When the Nevada margin of 24,049 is added in, just 71,846 votes made the difference between a Republican majority of 53 seats versus a 56-seat one. That difference could be crucial next month when it comes to votes on
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The Cook Political Report is an independent, non-partisan newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the US House of Representatives, US Senate, Governors and President as well as American political trends.
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