World enews: Who will control Congress? Democrats, Republicans wait for results of key races

While control of Congress after Tuesday’s midterm elections remains unknown, Republicans in Washington on Thursday ramped up planning for a takeover in the House of Representatives.

The GOP was denied being triumphantly swept into power on election night when the “red wave” party leaders forecasted never materialized.

For the Senate, control will come down to three races. Officials continue to count ballots in Nevada and Arizona, where the early results show tight races. If Democrats are able to win both, they will keep control of the Senate. But a Republican victory in either state will mean Senate control won’t be settled until December.

The Georgia Senate seat will be determined in a Dec. 6 runoff after neither Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock nor Republican challenger Herschel Walker met the required 50% needed to win the race.

The Senate contest in Arizona between incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly and Republican challenger Blake Masters remained too close to call Thursday morning. Maricopa County, the fourth largest county in the country and home to Phoenix and Tempe, faced widespread technical difficulties for hours on Election Day that led officials to use secure ballot boxes.

Sen. Mark Kelly on Nov. 8, 2022 in Tucson, Ariz.Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images

A slew of races in Nevada — including for Senate, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and secretary of state — still remain too early to call.

Incumbent Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is locked in a tight race against Republican challenger Adan Laxalt. Clark County election officials on Wednesday said they are still days from completing ballot counting in the state’s largest county.

Clark County Registrar Joe Gloria said they are still sorting tens of thousands of ballots that came through the mail and were left in drop boxes. In Nevada, mail ballots postmarked by Nov. 8 can arrive through Saturday and still be counted.

House control

In Washington, House Republicans have already begun maneuvering to determine who from their ranks will become the House speaker should they take control.

NBC News has not yet projected a winner for House control.

Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who is currently the minority leader, has long been viewed as the favorite to be House speaker should Republicans be in charge. But now he will have to wrangle the votes among his members, with little margin for error.

“I am determined to ensure that this majority reaches its full potential. I will be a listener every bit as much as a Speaker, striving to build consensus from the bottom-up rather than commanding the agenda from the top-down,” McCarthy said in a letter to House Republicans on Wednesday.

Summer Concepcion is a politics reporter for NBC News.