The Senate

The fight for control of the Senate is neck-and-neck. Democrats currently hold the upper hand here thanks to 48 Democratic senators, two independent senators who consistently vote with them and the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris.

That means Republicans need to net just one seat to comfortably control the Senate.

Key Races To Watch

NPR's Senior Political Editor Domenico Montanaro reports that there's four races we should be watching:

1. Pennsylvania (R-Open) —> if it's an open seat, why do we have a party affiliation here?

[Update: Lt. Gov. John Fetterman has defeated celebrity TV doctor Mehmet Oz.]

"Pennsylvania is so important to Democrats," Montanaro writes.

"If Lt. Gov. John Fetterman can hold on against celebrity TV doctor Mehmet Oz, then Republicans would need to win two of three [races in] Georgia, Nevada and Arizona.

"If Oz is able to pull it out, then Republicans' path to control opens up."

2. Georgia (D-Warnock)

This race pits Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock against former University of Georgia and NFL star Herschel Walker.

"Republicans have struggled to define Warnock in this race, though they have tried to tie him to Biden's policies in this state that leans Republican, especially in a midterm with high inflation and Biden's approval rating under water," Montanaro writes.

"But then there's the complication that is Walker for Republicans."

3. Nevada (D-Cortez Masto)

Montanaro reports that Republicans have started to feel confident about their chances here in recent weeks.

"Trump-backed challenger Adam Laxalt, a former state attorney general who denies the result of the 2020 presidential election, is a political scion in the state. His father was a senator, and his grandfather a governor," he writes.

"Democrats continue to say incumbent Catherine Cortez Masto is running a good campaign, but the political environment makes it an uphill battle. [...] Latinos are a key voting bloc here for Democrats, and the party needs them to turn out to vote."

4. Arizona (D-Kelly)

The last few weeks has seen a lot of tightening in the race pitting incumbent Democrat Mark Kelly against the Trump-backed Republican challenger Blake Masters.

"Arizona is a place where Republicans outnumber Democrats and where independents really matter. That's the hurdle for both incumbent Kelly and Masters," Montanaro writes.
 
You can read Montanaro's full story, which covers other key Senate races, here.

Live Senate Results

The House

Control of the House of Representatives, which currently rests with the Democrats, is looking quite likely to shift to Republicans.

The Republican Party needs to net just five seats to take control. And thanks in part to redistricting, seven seats currently held by Democrats are now favored to be won by Republicans, according to The Cook Political Report.

But, in total, 35 of the 435 House seats are considered a toss-up, where either party has a good chance of winning. The Cook Political Report is forecasting that the GOP could take anywhere from 12 to 25 seats.

The number of seats that Republicans take will be read as a key indicator of the overall size of the party's wave this election season.

NPR senior political correspondent Domenico Montanaro outlines the top 21 bellwether districts to watch here.

Live House Results