In what was shaping up to be a historically tight presidential election, results are in sooner than what may have been expected.
While experts thought it could take days to determine who will become the next U.S. president, former President Donald Trump has emerged as the projected winner overnight, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris.
Republicans will also have control of the Senate during his presidency, as determined by the election.
But it still remains to be seen who will take control of the House of Representatives. Should the House flip blue, Democrats will keep Trump’s power in check during his second term. But should the GOP maintain its slim majority, a trifecta of Republican control will be in play next year, allowing Trump to more easily execute his agenda.
Election experts from Decision Desk HQ, which helps news outlets make race calls, say it’s too soon to tell who will gain control, but early indications look favorable for Republicans.
"Vote counting in California will likely take weeks, but in the votes we have seen already reported in districts like CA22 and CA45, we see promising data for the GOP members,” DDHQ Director of Data Science Scott Trantor told Scripps News. “We will see if this trend continues in other House districts, but from what we've seen so far, the GOP should be cautiously optimistic about their chances to keep the House as well as hold onto key seats in California."
While it’s possible that results of who will have a House majority could come in this week, it is also possible it’ll take until next week to know for certain.
That’s because mail-in votes across the country can still be counted a week after Election Day, so long as they were put in the mail on Tuesday. On top of that, of the nearly 70 house seats deemed to be most competitive, 10 are in California, a state that traditionally takes longer to count votes.
