The 13th District is one of three Democratic victories in California alone, with Democrats Derek Tran and George Whitesides defeating Republicans Michelle Steel and Mike Garcia. Democrats also flipped three seats in New York and one in Oregon, and gained one seat each in Alabama and Louisiana under new congressional plans in those states.

Meanwhile, Republicans secured three seats in North Carolina based on the state’s new congressional map. They also defeated two Pennsylvania Democrats, Reps. Susan Wild and Matt Cartwright, as well as Democratic lawmakers in Alaska and Colorado, and they opened up an open seat in Michigan.

According to advertising tracking firm AdImpact, campaigns and outside groups spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the House races, with more than $1.1 billion spent on advertising from September through Election Day alone.

Democratic campaigns and groups spent more than their Republican rivals in the fall, losing $662 million on ads in House races versus $485 million for Republicans.

The narrow GOP majority underscores the tight battle for the House this year, with officials from both parties acknowledging that the recent redistricting process has shrunk the battleground by creating less competitive races. Just over 40 seats — about 10% of the chamber — were decided by less than 5 percentage points, according to the NBC News Decision Desk.

And even though Democrats lost the House, Senate and White House, they found that their candidates who were not elected in the election performed better than Vice President Kamala Harris.

At-risk Democratic incumbents in the House races outperformed Harris by an average of 2.7 points, according to an initial analysis of precinct data by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee shared with NBC News. The analysis also found that Democratic candidates in battleground districts outperformed Harris in districts with lower levels of education and where the majority of registered voters are people of color.

Johnson’s challenges

Because they control all levers of power in Washington, Republicans will have a rare opportunity in the new year to pass major policy priorities through budget “reconciliation” – a secretive process that allows Republicans to bypass filibusters and fast-track legislation , without the Democrats voting for it in the Senate.

But because their majority in the House is so fragile, said Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. — who is expected to be re-elected to the top job by his colleagues next month — and Republicans will face hurdles in getting their reconciliation package to fruition.

Trump and Republicans view the reconciliation package as a way to renew tax cuts that Trump signed into law in 2017 and are set to expire next year. Other provisions that could be included include a tax exemption for tip income – what Trump calls “no tax on tips” – and lifting the cap on state and local tax deductions.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a Trump ally who sits on the Budget and Judiciary Committees, has urged his colleagues to use reconciliation to pass border security legislation as Trump has vowed to end “the largest deportation program in American history.” “ to start.

Johnson’s math is further complicated by the fact that Trump has chosen two incumbent Republicans in the House of Representatives for his cabinet: Elise Stefanik of New York as US ambassador to the United Nations and Mike Waltz of Florida as national security adviser.

Republicans are also expected to start the new Congress without another representative.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., resigned from the House last month after Trump picked him to be the next attorney general; Gaetz withdrew his name from the trial due to allegations of sexual misconduct. Gaetz said he has no plans to join the next Congress despite winning re-election.

If Stefanik and Waltz resign at the same time, Johnson could only have a majority of one seat: 217 to 215.

The Florida State Department has already announced the special election schedule to replace Gaetz and Waltz. The primary election for the deep red seats is scheduled for Jan. 28, followed by a special election on April 1.

Once Stefanik leaves Congress, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul has 10 days to call a special election in New York, which under state law must take place 70 to 80 days after the proclamation.