Some midterm races still up in the air

Though the new balance of power in Congress was decided Tuesday, Republicans and Democrats were still waiting on a few too-close-to-call races Wednesday as they tallied their final seat counts in the House and Senate.

In Arizona, Republican Rep. Martha McSally narrowly led Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema by less than 1 percentage point with 99 precincts reporting Wednesday morning. In Montana, Republican Matt Rosendale had less than 1 point margin over Democratic incumbent Sen. John Tester with about 14 percent of precincts left to count. And just under 35,000 votes separated Republican Gov. Rick Scott and incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson in the Senate race in Florida. But many news outlets already called the election for Scott.

Democrats have earned 220 seats in the House of Representatives, putting them in the clear for a majority, with 22 races still undetermined as of midmorning Wednesday.

The Georgia gubernatorial race remains undecided, and Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams vowed late last night to wait until all the votes were counted. With all precincts reporting Wednesday morning, Republican Brian Kemp held 50 percent of the votes to Abrams’ 49 percent, with a third-party candidate getting about 1 percent. The state has not officially certified the vote, and Abrams has not conceded. If Kemp’s percentage dips below 50, it could force a runoff.

And there is another seat waiting to be filled, but for a different reason. Nevada brothel owner Dennis Hof, a Republican, defeated Democrat Lesia Romanov Tuesday for Nevada’s 26th Assembly District. The only hitch: He was found dead last month at his Love Ranch Brothel an hour outside Las Vegas. County officials will appoint a Republican to take his seat.