This November, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives will be on the ballot. The party that takes the majority will control which bills get a vote on the House floor and which party controls the committees; and with that comes the power to investigate and issue subpoenas.
With so many races to follow – here are some of the closest.
1. Ohio’s 9th Congressional District
Incumbent: Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D
Challenger: J.R. Majewski
Rep. Kaptur has served in Congress for nearly 40 years. In fact, she’s the longest serving woman in the history of the House of Representatives. Kaptur has dominated this seat, she’s consistently won with 60% to 75% of the vote. But because of redistricting, her race is considered a toss up. Kaptur’s challenger is Air Force veteran J.R. Majewski who describes himself as a commonsense conservative, a “Rush baby”, who wants to put America first.
2. Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District
Incumbent: Rep. Don Bacon, R
Challenger: State Sen. Tony Vargas, D
For the last thirty years, Republicans have won all three of Nebraska’s seats all but twice. This election cycle, Nebraska’s 2nd District is considered a toss-up. Bacon flipped this seat in 2016 with less than 50% of the vote, he won in 2018 with 50.8%. His challenger, Sen. Vargas, is a public school teacher who is focusing on improving education and healthcare affordability.
3. Texas’ 15th, 28th and 34th Districts
This is a combination of three districts on Texas’ southern border that Republicans are hoping to win after 40 years of Democratic domination. Democrats have won all three of these seats in every election since 1982 except one. Republicans hope three Latina women can change that.
Texas 15 is leaning in Republicans’ favor, with polls showing Monica De La Cruz being the likely winner over Democrat Michelle Vallejo.
Texas 28 former Ted Cruz staffer Cassy Garcia is running against incumbent Rep. Henry Cuellar, D.
Texas 34 Rep. Mayra Flores, R, already flipped this seat in a special election in June. But she will have to run again in a redrawn district to win a full term against Rep. Vincente Gonzalez Jr, D, who currently represents Texas 15.
4. Michigan’s 7th and 8th Districts
Redistricting has made Michigan’s 7th and 8th Districts nearly unrecognizable. They have actually swapped quite a bit of the land they cover from the area between Ann Arbor, East Lansing and all the way up to Saginaw Bay.
Michigan 7 Rep. Elissa Slotkin currently represents Michigan’s 8th District, but now she will run for the newly drawn 7th District against State Sen. Tom Barrett, R.
Michigan 8 Rep. Dan Kildee, D, currently represents Michigan 5 which is very similar to this new district. Republican challenger Paul Junge has never been elected to a political office but has served as a district attorney and worked in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services during the Trump administration.
5. New York’s 22nd District
Candidates:
Francis Conole, D
Brandon Williams, R
Redistricting will play a major role in this race. Instead of including Utica, Syracuse suburbs and heading south, NY22 now goes directly from Utica to Syracuse proper. Conole is a former Navy intelligence officer who served in the Middle East and in the Pentagon. Williams founded a software company and said he’s running to stop the Biden administration and progressive left policies.
Want more? Check out the top five Senate and Governor’s races to watch.
