U.S. House of Representatives: As reported last week, the House “flipped” from a Republican to a Democratic majority for the next Congress (which begins on January 3, 2019). The total count is not yet in, but at this point the Democrats have 226 seats and the Republicans have 200. (218 is a majority in the House.) Outcomes are still outstanding in a number of races. Since they will hold the majority, Democrats will chair all of the House committees, meaning that they will have a significant say over the content of bills within the committee’s jurisdiction.
U.S. Senate: In the Senate, the Republicans retained a majority of 51, and may have a larger margin, depending on the final outcome of elections in Florida (where votes are still being counted) and Mississippi (where there will be a run-off election). Republicans will thus retain the chairmanships of all Senate committees. On November 12, it was announced that current Democratic Representative Kyrsten Sinema won the close race for the Arizona Senate seat to be vacated by retiring Senator Jeff Flake (R). Therefore, Democrats will have at least 47 seats in the Senate.
Search by state to see short profiles of the new House and Senate Members.
To find your current Members, go to www.contactingcongress.org.
Encourage confidence to act