UPDATE - Republicans lay claim to 199 House seats, Democrats have 172 in US midterms

ADDS NEW DETAILS; REVISES DECK

By Michael Hernandez and Burak Bir

WASHINGTON / ANKARA (AA) - Republicans have taken a sizable advantage in the race to control the US House of Representatives, with incomplete results showing a significant lead over Democrats.

In all, Republicans have won 199 seats in the chamber, compared to 172 for Democrats. Most analysts widely predicted a Republican takeover of the House in Tuesday's midterm elections, though the Senate remains a topic of intense speculation.

This year, all 435 seats in the House were up for election, compared to 35 seats in the 100-seat Senate. As things currently stand, Republicans and Democrats have 48 seats each, according to Associated Press projections.

Key races continue in Wisconsin, Nevada, and Arizona that could prove pivotal in determining whether Republicans or Democrats lay claim to the chamber, as well as in Georgia, where incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock is trailing his Republican opponent, former American football star Herschel Walker, by 0.5%, according to RealClearPolitics.

But if neither Warnock or Walker gets a majority of the vote, state rules say the race will be decided in a Dec. 6 runoff between the top two contenders – leaving off the Libertarian third-party candidate – a race that could have the final say on control of the Senate.

Results in some other states could take days to determine, given how tight they are, as well as a backlog of uncounted mail-in or absentee ballots.

If Republicans win the House, as seems likely, President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda will be almost certainly be stopped in its tracks, facing an uncooperative GOP-dominated body.

If they also take control of the Senate, Republicans could also block or slow down many of Biden’s appointments for key administration positions, as well as federal judges, who enjoy lifetime tenure, helping to shape public life for decades.

While international attention remains focused on top-line congressional races, further down the ballot, voters weighed in on a series of state and local campaigns, from governors' races to ballot initiatives such as marijuana legalization, and more mundane but nonetheless important races for local offices.