While Democrats expect to keep control of the U.S. House of Representatives in Tuesday's election, several close and interesting races are on the ballot. Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI |
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Incumbent Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., is being challenged by Amy Kennedy for the New Jersey 2nd District seat in Congress. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia
Amy Kennedy is running against incumbent Rep. Jeff Van Drew for the New Jersey 2nd District seat in New Jersey. Photo courtesy of Matt Roth/Amy Kennedy campaign
Richard McCormick is a doctor running against Carolyn Bourdeaux for the Georgia 7th District seat in Congress. Photo courtesy of Richard McCormick
Carolyn Bourdeaux is running against Richard McCormick for the Georgia 7th District seat in Congress. Photo courtesy of Carolyn Bourdeaux
Incumbent Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, is being challenged by Gina Ortiz Jones for the Texas 23rd District seat in Congress. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia
Gina Ortiz Jones is running against incumbent Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, for the 23rd House District in Texas. Photo courtesy of Gina Ortiz Jones
Incumbent Rep. Collin Peterson, D-N.J., is running against Michelle Fischbach for Minnesota's 7th District seat in Congress. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia
Michelle Fischbach is running against incumbent Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., for the Minnesota 7th District seat. Photo courtesy of Michelle Fischbach
Incumbent Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., is facing Hiral Tipirneni in the race for Arizona's 6th District seat in Congress. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia
Hiral Tipirneni is running against incumbent Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., for the Arizona 6th District seat in Congress. Photo courtesy of Hiral Tipirneni
Incumbent Rep. Kendra Horn, D-Okla., is being challenged for Oklahoma's 5th District seat by State Sen. Stephanie Bice. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia
State Sen. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla., is running against incumbent Rep. Kendra Horn for Oklahoma's 5th District seat in Congress. Photo courtesy of the State of Oklahoma
Incumbent Rep. Xochitl Torres Small, D-N.M., is being challenged by Yvette Herrell for the New Mexico 2nd District seat in Congress. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia
Yvette Herrell is running against Rep. Xochitl Torres Small for the New Mexico 2nd District seat in Congress. Photo courtesy of Yvette Herrell
Oct. 28 (UPI) -- While Democrats expect to keep control of the U.S. House of Representatives in Tuesday's election, several close and interesting races are on the ballot.
Democrats go into the election with a 34-seat majority (232 to 198) over Republicans in the House. There are seven open seats.
Here's a look at some of the key races:
New Jersey 2nd District: Incumbent Jeff Van Drew (R) vs. Amy Kennedy (D)
The contest for the 2nd District pits Van Drew against Kennedy, daughter-in-law of longtime Sen. Edward Kennedy.
This district was represented by moderate Republican Frank LoBiondo for 23 years before he retired in 2018. Van Drew flipped it as a Democrat before switching parties last year during the impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.
Trump has campaigned for Van Drew and the incumbent Republican repaid the favor by speaking against his old party at the Republican National Convention.
Kennedy, married to former Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy, beat Democratic front-runner Brigid Callahan Harrison in the primary. Longtime Kennedy family friends, like Martin Luther King III, have backed her campaign.
The 2nd District covers the bulk of South Jersey, including Atlantic City and a portion of the Philadelphia suburbs in New Jersey.
Experts universally are calling this race a tossup.
Georgia 7th District: Richard McCormick (R) vs. Carolyn Bourdeaux (D)
McCormick and Bourdeaux are running for one of seven open seats in the House in 2020, but it's one of just two that are considered tossups. The 7th District was left vacant after Republican Rep. Rob Woodall said last year he wouldn't run again.
Boudreaux was the Democratic candidate in 2018, but lost to Woodall by just 400 votes. She now has the endorsement of the House Freedom Caucus and an edge in fundraising.
Republicans are confident they can hold onto the seat, as Trump won the district four years ago.
Most experts show this race as a tossup or a light Democratic lean.
Texas 23rd District: Tony Gonzales (R) vs. Gina Ortiz Jones (D)
This is the other close contest for an open seat in the House. Incumbent Republican Will Hurd won re-election two years ago by defeating Jones by fewer than 1,000 votes. He announced last year he wouldn't run again.
Jones will try again for the seat and, if successful, she would flip the seat to Democratic control. Both candidates are former service members, Gonzales in the U.S. Navy and Jones the U.S. Air Force.
Most experts give Jones a small edge to win the seat.
Minnesota 7th District: Incumbent Collin Peterson (D) vs. Michelle Fischbach (R)
Peterson and New Jersey's Van Drew were the only Democrats to vote against Trump's impeachment last December, saying the evidence failed to persuade them or their constituents that the president should've been removed from office.
Peterson has also shown a maverick streak by taking a conservative position on abortion rights and voting against the Affordable Care Act in 2010.
Peterson is chairman of the House agriculture committee, which has been helpful in this rural Minnesota district.
Trump, however, won the district by 31 points four years ago and Republicans are looking to flip control with Fischbach, the state's former lieutenant governor.
Most polls list this race as a tossup.
Arizona 6th District: Incumbent David Schweikert (R) vs. Hiral Tipirneni (D)
The embattled Schweikert is hoping constituents forgive him having received an official reprimand from the House this summer after admitting to 11 ethics violations.
Tipirneni, an emergency room physician, is expected to find some favor in the district, which covers the highly educated Phoenix suburbs.
In recent days, she has attacked Schweikert for his opposition to the Affordable Care Act and she has the backing of former astronaut Mark Kelly, who is running as a Democrat in Arizona's Senate race.
Most experts list this race as a tossup, or a slight Republican lean.
Oklahoma 5th District: Incumbent Kendra Horn (D) vs. Stephanie Bice (R)
Horn stunned the state's Republican establishment two years ago when she edged out Rep. Steve Russell for his seat by 2 points.
She rode the "blue wave" in 2018 in one of 31 districts Trump carried in 2016 that flipped to Democrats. Before she won, the district hadn't been represented by a Democrat since 1975.
Bice, a state senator who worked in her family's technology business, has tied Horn to progressive Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, hoping to gain support from the state's oil and gas industry.
This race is universally considered a total tossup by experts.
New Mexico 2nd District: Incumbent Xochitl Torres Small (D) vs. Yvette Herrell (R)
This race has been one of the most expensive in the nation, as moderate Democrat Torres Small again tries to hold off Herrell for the seat.
This race is one of 56 House rematches from the 2018 campaign. Two years ago, Torres Small won by fewer than 4,000 votes.
The mostly rural district covers southern New Mexico and a quarter of Albuquerque.
According to a Wesleyan Media Project analysis of television ad spending, this race has rung up $3.7 million in ad buys since Sept. 28.
Most analysts list this race a tossup or a slight Democratic lean.
2020 election: scenes from final stretch of presidential campaign
Democratic presidential nomimee Joe Biden addresses supporters at a drive-in rally outside of Heinz Field in Pittsburgh on Monday, the night before the election. Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI | License Photo
Biden
reminded the crowd of President Donald Trump's COVID-19 response and journalist Bob Woodward's book detailing Trump's downplaying of the virus. Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI |
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Biden and Harris supporters celebrate before
former President Obama speaks on stage at the Election Eve Close-Out drive-in rally campaigning for Biden for President at Florida International University, in Miami on Monday. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI |
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Former President Obama arrives on stage at the Election Eve Close-Out drive-in rally campaigning for his former Vice President, Joe Biden. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
Florida is a key battleground state for the presidential election, a state Obama carried in both the 2008 and 2012 elections. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
President Trump speaks during a Make America Great Again Victory Rally at Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport in Scranton, Pa., on Monday. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Trump
campaigned in four key states on Monday, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina and Wisconsin. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI |
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While in Pennsylvania, the President spoke out against celebrities who have campaigned for Biden in the last month. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Twitter also flagged a tweet from the President on Monday where he criticized the Supreme Court rejecting a request to block an extended deadline for mail-in ballots. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Sen. Kamala Harris, candidate for vice president, talks to supporters during
a drive-in rally campaign stop for Biden for President at Florida International University in Miami on October 31. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI |
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Biden and Harris supporters dance before Harris' event. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
Over the final weekend before the election, while Harris was in Florida, former Vice President Joe Biden was campaigning in Pennsylvania. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
Former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders (L) and White House senior adviser and daughter to President Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, campaign at Alexander Homestead in Charlotte, N.C., on October 28. Photo by Al Drago/UPI | License Photo
Ivanka Trump gives a thumbs-up as she campaigns for her father. Photo by Al Drago/UPI | License Photo
Audience members take photos at the event with Ivanka Trump. Photo by Al Drago/UPI | License Photo
Trump holds a campaign rally at the Waukesha County Airport in Waukesha, Wis., on October 24. Photo by Alex Wroblewski/UPI | License Photo
Trump voted in person in Florida before making his way to Wisconsin for the rally. Photo by Alex Wroblewski/UPI | License Photo
Trump supporters wait for the president to arrive and speak. Photo by Alex Wroblewski/UPI | License Photo
Campaign merchandise is for sale at the Trump campaign rally at the Waukesha County Airport. Photo by Alex Wroblewski/UPI | License Photo
Former President Barack Obama arrives to campaign for his former vice president, Joe Biden, at a drive-in-rally at Florida International University in Miami on October 24. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
Biden supporters listen to Obama during his campaign stop for Biden and running mate Sen. Kamala Harris. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
Obama spoke to the crowd of 228 cars in a field for 45 minutes. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
Thousands of Armenian-American protesters and Trump supporters line both sides of the street as they await Trump's arrival to a private fundraiser at tech mogul Palmer Luckey's estate in Newport Beach, Calif., on October 18. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
The protesters carried signs calling attention to the
ongoing conflict in Artsakh, a mountainous region inside Azerbaijani territory that is controlled by ethnic Armenians. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI |
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Trump supporters demonstrate alongside protesters calling on the president to act on the ongoing conflict in Armenia. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
A child dressed as President Donald Trump poses for a photo before Trump's rally at the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport, near Johnstown, Pa., on October 13. Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI | License Photo
Trump addresses supporters at
the Pennsylvania rally, where about half of the attendees wore a mask. Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI |
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Trump has announced plans to hold rallies in Florida, Iowa, Georgia and North Carolina. In Pennsylvania, he bragged about his recovery from COVID-19 and said his health has returned. Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI | License Photo
Biden speaks
during a campaign event in Pembroke Pines, Fla., where he appealed to senior voters on healthcare on October 13. Pool Photo by Jim Watson/UPI |
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Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., wears a face mask with Biden's campaign logo as she introduces him. Pool Photo by Jim Watson/UPI | License Photo
Trump conducts a campaign rally in
Sanford, Fla., on October 12. Photo by Joe Marino/UPI |
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It was the president's first rally since being treated for COVID-19, with his diagnosis announced only 10 days before the event. Photo by Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo
Joe Biden's wife, Jill Biden, waves to supporters outside the Greensburg Depot. Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI | License Photo
A Biden supporter wears a mask supporting her choice for president outside the Greensburg Depot. Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI | License Photo