WASHINGTON (AP) — Control of Congress is on the line on Tuesdaywith always exciting races for the House and Senate that will determine which party has the majority and the power to push or block a president’s agenda, or whether the White House will face a divided Capitol Hill.

The most important matches take place alongside the first presidential elections since the United States January 6, 2021: Attack on the Capitolbut also in unexpected corners of the country after what has been one of the most chaotic conference sessions in modern times.

Ultimately, just a handful of seats, or even just one, could tip the balance in both chambers.

The economy, border security, reproductive rights and even the future of American democracy itself have all underlined the debate.

In the Senate, where Democrats now have a narrow 51-49 majority, an early boost for Republicans is expected in West Virginia. Independent Senator Joe Manchin’s retirement creates an opening for Republicans Jim Justicenow the governor of the state, is favored to win. A pick-up there would leave the chamber deadlocked, 50-50, as Republicans try to wrest control.

Top House races are focused on New York And Californiawhere Democrats, in a politically unusual twist, are trying to win back some of the dozen or so seats where Republicans have made surprising gains in recent years, with top lawmakers helping bring the party to power.

Other House races are scattered across the country, a sign of how narrow the field has become, with only a few dozen seats seriously challenged, some of the most contentious in Maine, the “blue dot” around Omaha, Nebraska, and in Alaska.

Counting votes in some races could take well beyond Tuesday.

“We are within striking distance of taking back the House of Representatives,” said the Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives Hakeem Jeffrieswith whoever is in line making history as the first black speaker if his party wins control, told the Associated Press during a recent campaign swing through Southern California.

But the Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnsondrawing closer to Trump, predicts that Republicans will maintain “and grow” their majority. He took over after Kevin McCarthy was fired from the speaker’s office.

Capitol Hill can make or break the priorities of a new White House Trump or Harris potential allies or adversaries in the House of Representatives and the Senate, or a divided Congress that could force a season of compromise or stalemate.

Congress can also play a role in upholding America’s tradition of peacefully transferring presidential power. Four years ago, Trump sent his mob of supporters to “fight like hell” in the Capitol, and many Republicans in Congress voted to block the election. Joe Biden’s election. Congress will be called upon again to certify the results of the 2025 presidential election.

What started as a lackluster race for control of Congress was instantly transformed When Harris replaced Biden in the top spot, he galvanized Democrats with massive fundraising and volunteers that lawmakers said reminded them of the Obama-era enthusiasm of the 2008 election.

Billions of dollars have been spent by the parties and outside groups in the narrow battleground for both the 435-member House of Representatives and the 100-member Senate.

The Democrats must win a handful of seats in the House of Representatives to wrest party control from the Republicans. In the Senate, the vice president would become the deciding factor in a split, which would leave control of that chamber to the winner of the White House.

Senate Republicans launched a wide-open map of opportunity, recruiting wealthy newcomers to put Democratic incumbents on the defensive in nearly a dozen states across the country.

In Ohio, Trump-backed Republican Bernie Moreno, a Cleveland businessman, is trying to unseat three-term Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. About $400 million has been spent on the race.

One of the most closely watched Senate races, in Montana, may be one of the last to be decided. Democrat Jon Tester, a popular three-term senator and “dirt farmer,” is in the fight of his political career against Trump-backed Tim Sheehy, a wealthy former NAVY Seal who made derogatory comments about Native Americans, a key constituency in the West. stands.

And across the “blue wall” battlefields of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, Republicans are depending on Trump as they try to unseat a trio of incumbent Democratic senators.

Outgoing Republican leader in the Senate Mitch McConnell has spent a career focused on seizing and maintaining majority power, but other opportunities for Republicans have become bogged down in long-term shots.

In the southwestern states, Republican Kari Lake of Arizona has been running against Democrat Ruben Gallego in the seat opened by the retirement of Sen. Krysten Sinema. In Nevada, Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen is holding out against newcomer Sam Brown.

Democrats have stepped up their challenges a few Republican senators – Ted Cruz of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida – in states where reproductive rights took center stage in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to roll back access to abortion. Cruz faces Democrat Colin Allred, the Dallas-area congressman, while Scott has poured $10 million of his own fortune into the race against Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a former House of Representatives lawmaker.

Congress has the opportunity to achieve several historic milestones as it is reshaped by the American electorate and becomes more representative of a diverse nation.

Not one, but possibly two Black women could be headed to the Senate, something never seen in the US

Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware is favored in the Senate race against Republican Eric Hansen.

And in Maryland, Harris ally Angela Alsobrooks is locked in a highly competitive race against the state’s popular former governor, Republican Larry Hogan.

Americans have elected two black women, including Harris, as senators since the country’s founding, but never at the same time.

Candidate for the House Sarah McBridea Delaware state lawmaker close to the Biden family is poised to become the first openly transgender person in Congress.

The redistricting fallout, as states redraw their congressional district maps, is also shifting the balance of power within the House of Representatives — with Republicans poised to take several seats from Democrats in North Carolina and Democrats gaining a second seat with will win a black majority in the Republicans. Alabama.

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives face voters every two years, while senators serve longer six-year terms.

If the two chambers do indeed reverse party control, which is possible, that would be rare.

Data shows that if Democrats take over the House of Representatives and Republicans take over the Senate, it would be the first time the chambers of Congress have both switched to opposing political parties.

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Associated Press writers Stephen Groves, Kevin Freking and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.