It’s a fight to the finish in races that will determine control of Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — The last doors are being knocked on, the ads are playing and the candidates are making one last pitch to voters. Even with the final high-energy boost, the races for control of Congress they’re at a deadlock, essentially a showdown for the House and a fight to the finish for the Senate.

The outcome of Tuesday’s election will shape the country’s future, determining whether the new White House has allies or skeptics on Capitol Hill — or faces a divided Congress like this past session, which was among most tumultuous and unproductive in modern times.

As voters weigh their presidential options among Republicans Donald Trump and democrat Kamala Harristhey also evaluate who will represent them in Congress.

“That’s why I’m an independent,” said voter Gary Motta of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, who isn’t happy with either choice for president, as he appeared at an event Sunday morning for Republican Kevin Coughlin, who is trying to unseat Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes.

The battle for control of Congress has been going on for months. The candidates squabbled over the big issues — the economy, the border, reproductive health care and the future of democracy — but also over Congress itself, which had a chaotic session while the GOP-led House ousted its speaker and barely budged on government shutdowns.

This is the first presidential election since January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, and many Republican lawmakers who voted against certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s White House win over Trump are up for re-election.

Republican candidates, many backed by the former president, find themselves having to answer for him on several fronts. Among them is the decision of the Supreme Court, with three justices appointed by Trump, which ended the right to access to abortion

Democrats face tough questions about the Biden-Harris record on the US-Mexico border and inflation during their time in the White House.

Most of the closely contested House campaigns are held outside of presidential swing states, including new york and California, where Republican Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted as speaker and then left Congress, had made inroads in his home state. Democrats under New York Hakeem Jeffries, leader of the party in Parliament, now he’s trying to win them back.

Starting Saturday, California Rep. Pete Aguilar, the Democratic caucus chairman, is making a nine-step sweep through the Golden State to win back seats.

“There’s a lot of energy there,” Washington Rep. Suzan DelBene, who heads the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in an interview in Omaha, Nebraska, a surprising battleground, after a swing through New York. “We’re working hard to get it out to the vote.”

She said there are “tons of volunteers on the ground, lots of energy, very, very focused people. They understand there’s a lot at stake.”

With the ever-growing world of campaign fundraising, this election year stands out: $2.5 billion is being spent on win the Senate and nearly $1 billion for the House.

The Senate is lost for Republicans, a coda to the long administration of their party leader, Mitch McConnell from Kentucky. He has recruited wealthy Republican candidates, many backed by Trump, to face a half-dozen incumbent Democrats facing tough re-elections.

In Montana, Democratic Sen. Jon Tester is in one of the most competitive races in the country that could shift control to Republicans. But another half-dozen Senate races, including in the “blue wall” of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, are as close as the presidential race in those states.

But the late trades inject new uncertainty into other Senate races, putting Sen. Ted Cruz in the running on defense in Republican-heavy Texas where Democratic Rep. Colin Allred saw a surge of energy, including from Harris’ star-studded rally in Houston with hometown hero Beyoncé. Independent Nebraska Dan Osborne caught Republicans off guard in Nebraska as they seek to unseat GOP Sen. Deb Fischer.

Other Republican Senate candidates have stumbled.

In Ohio, Republican Bernie Moreno, who faces Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, made comments criticizes suburban women making access to abortion a priority issue. Republican Tim Sheehy did derogatory remarks on Native Americans, a key voting bloc in his race against Tester in Montana.

As Republicans outsourced their get-out-the-vote efforts to new groups, including Elon Musk’s America PACcampaign committees had to support themselves to make sure people voted.

Davide Cuigini, part of the young Republicans working to vote for Moreno last weekend in Ohio, said, “Republicans are finally voting early, so that will make a difference.”

However, energy on the Democratic side quickly picked up once Harris replaced Biden on the Democratic ticket over the summer.

Democrat Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, who could make history alongside Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware as black women in the Senate, hosted former President Barack Obama last week. Alsobrooks is running against Larry Hogan, a popular former governor.

In the House, Democrats have seen several races swing their way, according to nonpartisan analysts. But others, in Alaska and an open seat in Michigan, are leaning Republican. Two of the House the longest-serving parliamentarians they are in the fights of their political lives in Ohio and California.

However, an internal DCCC memo showed that 21 of 25 contested seats are still close, a week after the election.

There are also unusual battlegrounds, including what Nebraskans call the “blue spot” around Omaha, where Republican Rep. Don Bacon faces a challenge from Democrat Tony Vargas.

The outcome of the races will be a test of House leadership under Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. He said at a recent stop near Akron, Ohio, that with the GOP’s “victorious warriors” as their candidates, he knows they will win.

Jeffries, who is set to become speaker of the House if Democrats take control, said he decided to “ keep calm “even if the possibility of unexpected events keeps him awake at night.

If the two chambers actually change party control, as is possible, it would be rare.

Records show that if Democrats take the House and Republicans take the Senate, it would be the first time both chambers of Congress have switched to opposite political parties.

“This election is a very big deal,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, campaigning for a fellow Democrat in one of his state House races.

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Associated Press writers Lea Skene in Baltimore and Stephen Groves and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.