More than half of all competitive House races this cycle featured women candidates from one or both parties. Women were also the Democratic nominees in 20 of the 41 most competitive seats held by Republicans. Decision Desk HQ projected Democrats will win the chamber, which Republicans currently control by a slim margin of 218-214, on Tuesday.
Democrats have so far flipped 11 House seats, with some still too close to call; they need 218 seats to hold a majority in the lower chamber. An electorate fed up with its leadership and demanding change made their voices heard in this year’s House races. After then-President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race amid concerns over his age and mental acuity, a wave of younger Democratic candidates stepped up to run against older incumbents they saw as having overstayed their welcome in Congress.
Some were aligned with Democratic Socialists of America; others more moderate. And in the battleground seats that decided control of the chamber, Democrats found success hammering Republican incumbents on the rising cost of living and what they said was the “corruption” and harmful policies coming out of the second Trump administration. They also overcame Republicans’ efforts to gerrymander their way to control of the House.
These races also illustrate how backlash against the Trump administration’s policies, a nationwide reckoning over sexual abuse, and Democrats’ frustration with their own party leadership changed the makeup of the House in 2026. Kathy Castor, who earlier this year was redistricted into a Republican-leaning seat that voted for President Donald Trump by 11 points in 2024, is projected to win her reelection bid. Castor’s win is an example of how Republicans’ strategy to pick up seats through mid-decade redistricting failed to deliver.
In Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, Democrat Pia Dandiya, a political newcomer, is projected to win in a district that Trump won by 10 points. She’ll be Florida’s first South Asian member of Congress. Also in South Florida, Rep.
Jared Moskowitz overcame Republicans’ efforts to gerrymander him out of his seat. Castor’s win was one of the first signs of trouble for Republicans on Tuesday night. The 11-term House lawmaker ran on promises to address the rising cost of living and bring federal dollars to the Tampa Bay area.
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