With the US general election just days away, it may seem like the close presidential race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump is sucking up all the attention.
But on Election Day, Nov. 5, important battles will unfold for both the House and Senate.
However, unlike the Senate, where only one-third of the seats are at stake, all 435 seats in the House will be on the ballot this election cycle.
Races are held in all corners of the United States. After all, the House of Representatives allocates a certain number of seats to each state based on population size, and each seat represents a specific district within the state.
The House of Representatives faces the prospect of redistricting every two years through re-election of all members.
And this year, Republicans are on the defensive, hoping to protect their parliamentary majority.
Republicans currently control 220 seats, while Democrats have won 212 seats. At stake is the power to pass or block new laws. But the House also has special abilities. Only the House of Representatives can introduce revenue bills and impeach federal officials.
Experts have identified 34 lower house seats at risk of party flipping this November. What are the most notable laces? Take a look at five nail-biters below.
Congressman Anthony D’Esposito is trying to fend off a second attempt by Laura Guillen to unseat him (Brendan McDiarmid/Reuters)
New York 4th District
New York state has long been a Democratic stronghold.
But when you zoom in on the state, the electoral map becomes a patchwork of red and blue districts. Nowhere is this more evident than on Long Island, a political battleground jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean.
Long Island is home to some of New York’s most competitive House races, including the battle for the 4th Congressional District.
This neighborhood is minutes from the urban hustle and bustle of Manhattan, yet has a laid-back suburban feel. It is also known as one of New York’s wealthiest enclaves.
Both Democrats and Republicans have made gains in the region in recent years. For example, in the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden won the 4th District by a 15 percentage point margin, and fellow Democrat Kathleen Rice deftly defended her final term in the House of Representatives.
But two years later, new House elections were held and the seat fell to Republicans.
Currently, Republican incumbent Anthony D’Esposito faces a rematch with his rival in the race, Democrat Laura Guillen.
D’Esposito is a former NYPD detective who follows what he calls common sense. He has harshly criticized Guillen for being soft on crime and immigration, and has also come under fire for allegedly giving his girlfriend a part-time job from his government salary.
Meanwhile, Guillen said he would push for stronger law enforcement and border security. “I will work with anyone from any political party to secure our southern border,” she says in a campaign ad.
The conflict between Guillen and D’Esposito goes back many years. During Gillen’s time as Hempstead town supervisor, he clashed with the town board, of which D’Esposito was a member.
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris greets incumbent Congressman Don Davis in Greenville, North Carolina, on October 13 (Jonathan Drake/Reuters)
North Carolina 1st Congressional District:
North Carolina is the latest battleground state this election cycle, with statewide polls showing Democrats and Republicans nearly evenly matched. Experts speculate that if the vote goes in Harris’ favor, she could become the first Democratic presidential candidate to claim the state since 2008.
But one prominent corner of North Carolina is also poised for a flip.
It is the 1st Congressional District located in northeastern North Carolina on the border with Virginia.
There, incumbent Democrat Don Davis faces a stiff challenge in a race that raises issues of race and redistricting.
The 1st Congressional District has long been considered part of the “Black Belt” in the southern United States, a set of districts where black residents outnumber or equal white residents. Approximately 40 percent of the district’s residents are black.
The district last elected a Republican in 1883, and since the 1990s all of the district’s elected officials have been black. However, both of these streaks could end on November 5th.
The district was one of four areas targeted in the December 2023 lawsuit, with voting rights activists claiming district boundaries were redrawn to weaken the power of Black voters.
The new boundaries of the 1st District carved out some black neighborhoods and incorporated other mostly white neighborhoods.
In the end, the lawsuit was dismissed. However, the map can still affect who wins. Currently, seven Democrats and seven Republicans from North Carolina are elected to Congress.
Davis, an Air Force graduate, is running a close race against fellow veteran and political newcomer Laurie Buckhout. However, Davis has voted Republican several times and is known to oppose his own party.
U.S. Rep. Mike Garcia covers a district that includes parts of north Los Angeles (J Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
California District 27:
Earlier this month, Republican presidential candidate Trump made an interesting choice.
He traveled to California’s Coachella Valley to hold rallies during the crucial final weeks of the election. It seemed like a counterintuitive move. After all, isn’t California a deep blue state that Democrats have long held?
Despite its reputation as a liberal bastion, the state could be key to control of the House, and both parties have poured millions of dollars into district-level campaigns in the state.
One of the most coveted awards is California’s 27th District, located on the northern border of Los Angeles.
During the 2020 presidential election, the 27th District was one of only five areas in California to elect a Republican to Congress, while also supporting Democrat Joe Biden for president.
Therefore, there is a high possibility that parties will change in this year’s House of Representatives elections. Incumbent Republican Mike Garcia, a former fighter pilot who has held the seat since 2020, is preparing for the fight for his political life.
He is running against businessman George Whitesides, who served as NASA chief of staff under former President Barack Obama.
Rep. Marie Grusenkamp Perez faces off against Republican rival Joe Kent in an Oct. 7 debate. (Jenny Kane/AP Photo)
Washington’s 3rd Congressional District:
The rematch is here.
The 3rd Congressional District, located along Washington state’s mountainous coastline and bordering Oregon, will be another hot spot in this year’s House race.
The race there reunites Marie Grusenkamp Perez and Joe Kent, two rivals from the last election cycle.
In 2022, Democrat Grusenkamp Perez defeated Republican Kent in a close race, 50.1% to 49.3%. This was one of the narrowest House election victories in the country.
Now, the two sides are facing off again, with both pitching themselves to voters as moderates.
Grusenkamp Perez, a member of the centrist Blue Dog Coalition, has often worked with Republicans on issues such as voting against student loan forgiveness and short-term government funding.
The publication Politico described her as a “blue-collar, Bible-quoting, pro-Israel, pro-choice, millennial Latina” who defies categorization.
On her website, Grusenkamp Perez touts her status as Washington state’s “most bipartisan lawmaker.”
But although Kent is considered far-right, he is also trying to appeal to centrist voters.
Kent is a former Green Beret and Central Intelligence Agency field operative, as well as a former foreign policy advisor to President Trump. Still, during a debate earlier this month, he pledged to work with Democrats as well as Republicans.
“We’re willing to work with anyone who’s willing to actually secure our borders, stop fentanyl, deport people who are in our country illegally, balance our budget,” he said. .
Congresswoman Mary Peltola shakes hands at an election event in Juneau, Alaska, on Aug. 3. (Becky Boler/AP Photo)
Alaska Greater Area:
Alaska has a very small population, so it only has one representative in the House of Representatives.
This means the entire state is one giant congressional district. This is the largest electoral district in the United States.
In the last election cycle in 2022, candidate Mary Peltola made history. Not only was she the first Alaskan elected to Congress, she was also the first Democrat to represent a large Alaska district since 1972.
To win the seat, she defeated two Republican candidates, one of whom was former governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
But the second of these two candidates is eyeing a different showdown. Nick Begich III plans to return to racing in 2024 with the aim of dethroning Pertola.
Mr. Begich, the founder of a software development company, is part of a political dynasty in Alaska. His grandfather was the late Nick Begich Sr., who was the last Democrat to hold an at-large seat in the House before Mr. Peltola.
But Alaska’s unique voting system could add a new competitor to the race.
Since 2022, Alaska has been one of only two states to use a process called ranked-choice voting for statewide elections. According to its rules, up to four candidates can participate in the general election. If no one receives a majority of votes in the first round, a second round will be held with only the top two candidates.
This system allowed Democrat Eric Hafner to run for office. He won one of the four spots after other candidates abstained. Hafner, now five years into a 20-year sentence in a New Jersey prison, has never set foot in Alaska.
Nevertheless, the state Democratic Party was unable to remove him from the ballot, despite filing a lawsuit.
