WASHINGTON - Two days after polls closed in the 2022 midterm elections, some of the nation's most consequential races have not yet been decided.
Though Republicans and pundits predicted a "red tsunami," control of the U.S. House and Senate are still up for grabs.
In his first address to the nation following the election, President Joe Biden chided the press and pundits for predicting a Republican sweep that “didn’t happen” and said he would work with his conservative counterparts regardless of the election’s outcome.
“Regardless of what the final tally is… I'm prepared to work with my Republican colleagues,” Biden said. “The American people have made clear that they expect Republicans prepared to work with me as well.”
Here's what we know about outstanding midterm election races as of Thursday morning.
Election 2022 recap:Fetterman flips Pennsylvania Senate seat for Dems; several seats pending
Voted into history:Moore elected Maryland's first Black governor; Maxwell Frost brings Gen Z to House
What's happening in Arizona?
There were still more than 600,000 ballots left to process and count statewide at the end of the day Wednesday, according to a tracker by the Arizona Secretary of State's Office. An estimated 340,000 of those were in Maricopa County, which encompasses the Phoenix metro area.
Among those that officials started processing early Wednesday were some 275,000 early ballots that voters dropped off at polling places on Election Day in Maricopa. Those ballots have to undergo signature verification before they are counted. That process should be almost complete by the end of Friday, officials said.
– Arizona Republic
Uncalled Senate races
In Arizona, incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat, holds a 5-point lead over Republican challenger Blake Masters with 69% of ballots counted.
Nevada Republican Adam Laxalt is leading incumbent Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto by just over 2 percentage points, 49.6% to 47.4%, with 78% of ballots counted.
And in Georgia, perhaps the most consequential of them all, incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock is headed into a runoff election against Republican challenger Herschel Walker. With more than 98% of ballots counted, neither Warnock nor Walker earned more than 50% of the vote, which is needed to name a winner.
Senate races recap:John Fetterman defeats Oz in Pennsylvania; Maggie Hassan wins New Hampshire
Alaska's Senate race is yet to be called, but its ideological outcome is already decided. With the state's ranked-choice voting system, Republicans Kelly Tshibaka and Lisa Murkowski are neck-and-neck for the seat, meaning that Alaska's next senator will be a Republican; it's just a matter of who. That state's results could take up to two more weeks to finalize.
Democrats and Republicans have so far won 48 seats each. A party needs 51 seats to have the majority, but with Vice President Kamala Harris' tie-breaking vote, Democrats only need 50 seats.
Uncalled House races
There are dozens of seats still at stake, including several key races that could determine what party controls the House.
Among the races called as of Wednesday evening, Republicans look better slated to reach the 218 seat threshold to control the House compared to Democrats.
In one notable outstanding race, Republican freshman Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado trailed her Democratic challenger Adam Frisch by just 64 votes, with 98% of votes counted, according to the Associated Press.
House election recap:Democrats run stronger than expected but may yet lose majority
4 gubernatorial races have no winner yet
Hobbs' previously lofty lead over Lake has slimmed down to a razor-thin margin as the state continues to count votes. With 69% of the votes counted, Hobbs holds 50.3% of the vote compared to Lake's 49.7%.
Governor races recap:Arizona, Oregon too close to call; Whitmer, Kemp win reelection
Nevada's Republican gubernatorial candidate Joe Lombardo leads incumbent Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak by nearly 5 percentage points, 50.3% to 46%, with 78% of votes counted.
Democrat Tina Kotek leads Republican Christine Drazan by nearly 3 percentage points, 46.7 to 43.9%, in her run for Oregon's gubernatorial race, where she seeks to maintain the Democrats' 36-year hold on the state's governorship.
Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy is likely to maintain his position as Alaska's governor with 52% of the votes, beating Democrat Les Gara and independent Bill Walker. However, if Dunleavy's lead falls below 50% the state will turn to ranked choice vote tabulations.
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