Democrats reached 254 seats in the US House of Representatives on Saturday, November 8, as more midterm races were called, extending a majority that is now on course to be the party's largest since the 2008 election.

The Associated Press had Democrats at 254 seats to 162 for Republicans as of Saturday, with 19 contests still undecided. The new calls pushed the Democratic total from 250 seats, reached on Thursday, November 5, to 254 by Saturday. Democrats are projected to oust at least 30 Republican incumbents, and the final tally could climb higher: NBC News estimated a final total near 259 seats, while CBS News put the figure at about 256.

South Carolina flip leads Saturday's calls

The headline call of the day came in South Carolina's 1st Congressional District, where Democrat Nancy Lacore defeated Republican Jenny Costa Honeycutt 49.7 percent to 48.6 percent, with 99 percent of ballots counted, flipping a Republican-held seat. Lacore, a retired Navy admiral, had only been reported as leading earlier in the week; the Associated Press call on Saturday made the flip official.

California delivered two more Democratic seats on Friday evening. In the 14th District, Aisha Wahab defeated fellow Democrat Melissa Hernandez, securing a full two-year term after winning a special election earlier this year. In the 11th District, Scott Wiener prevailed over fellow Democrat Connie Chan.

Largest majority since 2008

The scale of the Democratic gains is now clear. The party began the election with 214 seats and has won more than 40 districts previously held by Republicans, including seats in battlegrounds and places that had strongly favoured Republicans. The last time Democrats held a House majority this large was after the 2008 election, when the party won 257 seats. A final total near 260 would give the party its largest House delegation since 1991.

A party needs 218 seats to control the House, and at 254 Democrats would hold a cushion of 36 seats, enough to absorb defections on difficult votes and to set the legislative agenda without depending on the handful of members in the middle.

Senate count still moving

In the Senate, Democrats plus two independents hold a combined 54 seats to 44 for Republicans, with Alaska and Mississippi still uncalled. In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom led Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by 2,574 votes on Saturday with about 97 percent of the expected vote counted, a lead that has grown steadily since Election Day, when the race was separated by only 43 votes.

The remaining 19 House contests will be called in the coming days as counting finishes, and the final Democratic total is expected to land in the mid-to-high 250s. The new Congress convenes on January 3, 2027, when the incoming majority will elect its leadership and committee chairs and take control of both chambers.