How a handful of states and districts could decide who runs Congress

By: Jennifer Shutt

Outlets: DC Bureau (States Newsroom)

Published: February 24, 2026

Words: 1,525

Last Updated: 5 days, 16 hours ago

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WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats will spend billions of dollars and countless hours campaigning throughout the country ahead of November’s midterm elections, even though control of Congress likely will be decided by a relatively small number of toss-up races and the voters who actually turn out to cast a ballot for their preferred candidate.

There are just four Senate races out of 35 and 18 House districts out of 435 where each candidate has even odds …

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