Republicans claim US House, achieving ‘trifecta’ of election victories

On Wednesday, the Republican Party cleared the threshold of 218 seats, achieving majorities in both chambers of Congress.

The Republican Party has won enough seats to maintain control over the House of Representatives, cementing a dominant performance in the 2024 United States elections.

The Associated Press news agency announced that the party had hit the key threshold of 218 seats, out of a total of 435, late on Wednesday.

The victory in the House not only gives the Republicans leadership over both chambers of Congress, but it also assures that the party holds sway over all major branches of government.

In the November 5 general elections, Republican leader and former President Donald Trump also won the White House by a commanding margin, campaigning on an “America first” platform.

And thanks to justices appointed during Trump’s last term in office, the Supreme Court has a six-to-three supermajority in the conservatives’ favour.

“We stand united, determined, and ready to deliver the America First Agenda,” House Speaker Mike Johnson wrote on social media earlier in the day, in the lead-up to the announcement.

The AP is often used as a benchmark in election coverage, as it does not issue projections: it only calls a race when there is no conceivable path to victory for rival candidates or parties.

While many races — including the battle for the presidency — were called within hours of the polls closing on Election Day, the fight for control of the House took more than a week to decide.

That is because of the large number of seats at stake and the tight nature of some individual races.

Every two years, all 435 seats in the House are up for re-election. That marks a stark contrast with the upper chamber of Congress, the Senate, where terms are six years in length, and only a third of the senators face re-election at any given time.

With House races unfolding across the country, election laws and protocols in different states also contributed to delays in tallying the results.

Some states, like California, send mail-in ballots to all registered voters. Sorting through the returned ballots can be a time-consuming process.

California also offers same-day voting registration for those who miss the deadline to apply. Voters can cast a provisional ballot that is held until authorities can verify a person’s eligibility to vote. The ballot is counted only after that.

Meanwhile, in states like Arizona and California, officials spend days after an election verifying the signatures of voters.

Races in both the states helped push Republicans over the edge on Wednesday night.

The contest that helped the party reach the magic number of 218 unfolded in Arizona’s 6th congressional district, where incumbent Juan Ciscomani beat Democratic law professor Kirsten Engel.

Over the last couple of days, Republicans also notched narrow victories to hold on to seats in California’s 41st and 22nd congressional districts. And a flipped seat in Colorado’s 8th congressional district helped propel the Republicans forward.

Achieving an election “trifecta” — by winning control over the House, Senate and the White House — has cleared the way for Republicans to potentially enact their party platform, with little impediment from the left.

But a “trifecta” is no guarantee against political infighting. The Democrats previously held a trifecta from 2021 to 2023, but certain policy priorities were stymied by internal dissent, with some figures, like Arizona independent Kyrsten Sinema, bucking party orthodoxy.

The Senate flipped from Democratic to Republican control on the night after the November 5 election. Republicans, meanwhile, had previously flipped the House in the 2022 midterm elections.

On Wednesday, Republicans voted in support of Representative Johnson retaining his role as House speaker, the presiding officer in the chamber.

“It is a new day in America,” Johnson said in a news conference on Wednesday, offering his twist on a slogan made famous by late Republican President Ronald Reagan.

Johnson added that Trump spoke to the Republican lawmakers, comparing the president-elect’s remarks to a “pep rally”.

“Everyone feels very confident, very encouraged about the days ahead,” he said. “And he gave us a very inspirational message. He talked about the importance of maintaining unity and standing with this leadership team to go forward.”