Democrats could expand their majorities in both chambers of the U.S. Congress as counting continues in more than a dozen unresolved races following the midterm elections, Al Jazeera reported Wednesday.

The party had secured 54 Senate seats and 255 seats in the 435-member House of Representatives, according to the report. That represents Democrats’ largest elected House majority since 2008, but close contests and outstanding ballots leave the final size of both majorities unsettled.

Two Senate races offer Democrats a chance to add seats before the incoming Congress takes office in January.

In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom led Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith by about 2,600 votes late Tuesday. The number of ballots still to be counted was unclear. Secretary of State Michael Watson said Monday that roughly 14,200 provisional ballots had been processed, with about 80 per cent accepted, while approximately 2,700 mail-in absentee ballots had not been returned.

Mississippi has no central vote-reporting system, and few counties publish results online. Al Jazeera reported that Associated Press journalists and analysts contact the state’s 82 counties directly for updated counts. State certification is scheduled for December 3. Recounts require a court order; they are neither automatic nor available simply at a candidate’s request.

In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola led Republican Senator Dan Sullivan by about 2,500 votes Tuesday, with an estimated 76 per cent counted. Peltola remained just over one percentage point short of the majority required to win outright.

Overseas absentee ballots can arrive until November 18. If no candidate secures a majority, ranked-choice tabulation will take place that day. Alaska’s target for certification is November 25.

Most unresolved House races had margins below one percentage point among ballots counted by late Tuesday afternoon, according to Al Jazeera.

North Carolina had four undecided contests, each involving a Republican incumbent. Candidates can request a recount when the margin is one per cent or less, with requests due by noon Eastern Time on November 17. State certification is scheduled for November 24.

A recount was already under way in South Carolina’s 2nd District, where Republican incumbent Joe Wilson led Democrat Zyon Khalifa by about 3,000 votes in the original tally, with 99 per cent counted.

Races in Minnesota’s 1st District and Tennessee’s 4th District were separated by roughly 300 votes each. In California, only the unresolved 23rd District contest could change the partisan balance: the state’s other uncalled House race was between two Democrats.

Sources