By Jim Ellis — Wednesday, November 11, 2026
2026 Midterms
Several more US House races were called yesterday, and the results suggest the Democrats could increase the size of their new majority to 260 seats.
In California, Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento) was declared the winner in her double-Democratic race against Sacramento City Councilwoman Mai Vang. In the June jungle primary, Vang placed ahead of the Congresswoman, but before the entire electorate with no Republican candidate, Rep. Matsui was able to attract the majority of GOP voters who would not support Democratic Socialist Vang.
In southern California, in a contest that pitted two Republicans against each other, veteran Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona) was officially declared the winner yesterday, defeating fellow Republican House member Young Kim (R-La Habra). The new redistricting map paired the two incumbents into one district. The new 40th District contained much more of Calvert’s territory than Kim’s, thus giving him a distinct electoral advantage.
An official call in Colorado sees Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Silt) losing her 4th District seat to retired Navy Admiral Eileen Laubacher (D). The flip of what should be Colorado’s safest Republican seat is one of the reasons Democrats can reach the 260 mark.
Several races were called in Florida, all with expected results. In the open Republican 7th CD, former news anchor Ryan Elijah, after defeating Rep. Cory Mills in the Republican primary, was declared the official general election winner, topping former NASA chief of staff Bale Dalton.
Though targeted by the Republican redistricting map, Rep. Darren Soto (D-Kissimmee) has beaten the political odds, and is now officially re-elected. He defeated former Defense Department Deputy Assistant Secretary Dan Green by just over 1,500 votes.
The final outstanding Florida race was also called as Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Miami) has secured re-election to a fourth term defeating retired Miami news anchor Eliott Rodriguez (D) by just under 1,100 votes.
Five races are headed to recounts. The two closest North Carolina seats that have yet to be finalized are both going to recounts. Now, with later votes flipping the lead to Democrat Raymond Smith and away from Rep. Greg Murphy (R-Greenville), and Democrat Chuck Hubbard increasing his small edge over Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-Banner Elk), losing these two would guarantee the Democrats reaching 260 seats.
In the state’s reconfigured 3rd CD, Smith, a former state Representative, now leads Rep. Murphy by 293 votes. In the 5th, Hubbard’s edge over Rep. Foxx increases from 99 to 325 votes.
Turning to Minnesota, retired teacher Jake Johnson (D) has declared victory over Rep. Brad Finstad (R-New Ulm). He leads the Congressman by 321 votes and the incumbent has called for a recount. With all the votes in, a recount is unlikely to change even this small lead.
In South Carolina, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-Springdale) will also face a recount. He holds a 2,842 vote advantage over Democrat Zyon Khalifa, but the vote spread is just short of the margin needed to avoid an automatic recount under South Carolina law. His lead is strong enough to easily withstand a recount, so Rep. Wilson will be declared the official winner once the process is completed.
In Tennessee, it appears that Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-Sherwood) has lost his 4th District seat to Democrat Victoria Broderick by 280 votes. Broderick has declared victory and the Congressman has asked for a recount. The recount will occur, but it is unlikely that this end result will change.
The other outstanding races include the Alaska seat where Rep. Nick Begich, III (R-Chugiak) has a sizable 19,097 vote lead over Independent Bill Hill. Begich’s vote percentage is 48.9 percent. If the outstanding votes – estimated at approximately 46,000 – puts him over 50 percent, he will avoid the Ranked Choice Voting rounds that will make this race much closer. Rep. Begich is likely to be re-elected.
The two undecided races in Louisiana, open Districts 5 and 6, will go to runoff elections on Dec. 12. Republicans are favored to win both.
Of the remaining uncalled races, the most interesting one involves veteran Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena/Napa) trailing fellow Democrat Eric Jones, a venture capitalist. Jones has an 8,315 vote lead but NBC News estimates another 68,000 or so votes remain to be signature certified before being counted.
Most of those votes come from the more populous counties of Napa, Sonoma, and Yolo, where the Congressman is performing well. The smaller counties where Jones is well ahead also have outstanding votes, but not as many.
NBC News estimates that Rep. Thompson will have to capture just over 56 percent of the uncounted ballots to overtake Jones. Based upon where the uncounted votes lie and the percentages each man has obtained in the particular counties suggest that this contest is going to become very close before a candidate is declared the official winner.