Republicans gain Senate majority after likely win in Pennsylvania

(Patria) - Donald Trump's Republicans could gain another seat in the U.S. Senate and appear set to retain control of the House of Representatives, putting them in a position to control both houses of Congress next year, Reuters reported.

Several media outlets predict that Republican Dave McCormick will defeat Democratic Senator Bob Casey in Pennsylvania, giving Trump's party at least 53 seats in the 100-seat parliament next year. This margin could rise to as many as 55 seats if Republicans win tight races in Arizona and Nevada, where votes are still being counted.

In the race for the House of Representatives, Republicans are close to victory. They have secured 209 seats, leaving them nine short of a majority in the 435-seat house. Democrats would need to win 23 out of 31 remaining races to take control of the House and retain power in Washington.

The final results of Tuesday's election may not be known for some time, as there are ten unresolved races in California, which usually takes several days to count ballots. With control of the Senate, Republicans will be in a position to confirm Trump's personnel and judicial appointments, although they will still be short of the 60 votes needed to quickly pass most legislation.

If they also control the House of Representatives, they could help Trump fulfill campaign promises such as tax cuts and dramatically limiting immigration.

Other Senate races are in Nevada, where incumbent Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen leads Republican challenger Sam Brown by one percentage point with 94% of estimated votes counted, and in Arizona, where Democrat Ruben Gallego leads Republican Kari Lake by two percentage points with 70% of votes counted.