US election: balance of power in Congress hangs by a thread

Four remaining races will determine whether Republicans or Democrats control the Senate in 2021

A car driver holds a sign at Black Lives Matter plaza near the White House after Election Day in Washington, DC. Reuters

An Oregon State Trooper hits a protester with his baton while dispersing a crowd of black bloc protesters in Portland. AFP

Soldiers with the National Guard help local police disperse antifascist protesters following the US presidential elections in Portland, Oregon. EPA

Minneapolis State Patrol arrest journalists and people protesting against racism and issues with the presidential election after they blocked interstate 94 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP

Demonstrators march on to highway I-94 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP

Police officers line up alongside interstate 94 blocked by protestors marching against racism and issues with the presidential election in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP

Minneapolis State Patrol arrest journalists and people protesting against racism and issues with the presidential election after they blocked interstate 94 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP

A woman pulls a child away from a protest crowd as it passes a downtown restaurant in Portland, Oregon. AFP

Black bloc protesters pull a barrier into the street while running from police in Portland, Oregon. AFP

Clark County Registrar of Voters Joe Gloria, left, is interrupted by a disgruntled member of the public during a press conference outside Clark County Election Department, in North Las Vegas. AFP

People hold a "Remove Trump Pence Now" sign during a protest against racism and issues with the presidential election after in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP

A speaker leads a crowd in chants in Portland, Oregon. AFP

Pedestrians walk past a digital screen displaying a news report on the U.S. presidential election in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Bloomberg

A man watches the U.S. Election live broadcasting at a bar on November 05, 2020 in Shanghai, China. Getty Images

South Korean supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump hold flags near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea. AP Photo

Vietnamese souvenir seller Truong Thanh Duc, supporter of US President Donald Trump, shows images of the president at his shop in Hanoi, Vietnam. Reuters

Medical workers look at a computer screen displaying the partial results of the US elections, at the intensive care unit for patients infected by Covid-19 of the university-affiliated hospital Cavale Blanche in Brest, western France. AFP

A currency dealer monitors exchange rates as a screen shows results of the US presidential elections in a trading room at KEB Hana Bank in Seoul. AFP

A cyclist wears a banner at Black Lives Matter plaza near the White House after Election Day in Washington, U.S., November 5, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

Joe Biden is leading the US presidential race as a handful of states continue to count ballots, but the picture is much less rosy for Democrats in Congress.

Although Democrats had anticipated a blue wave on election night to gain control of the Senate, they may not eke out even a slim majority.

The future balance of power in the Senate will come down to a razor-thin margin and hinges on the results of the four remaining races – one in Alaska, another in North Carolina and two in Georgia.

“I don’t know if I’m going to be the defensive co-ordinator or the offensive co-ordinator,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday.

In Alaska, the Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan still holds a firm lead over his challenger, Al Gross as the state continues to count ballots.

North Carolina, a key battleground state, also continues to count a number of remaining ballots that will determine whether Republican Thom Tillis will keep his Senate seat. Mr Tillis has already declared victory in the competitive race against Democrat Cal Cunningham even though the ballot count is not yet complete.

In the final weeks of the race, Mr Cunningham had come under attack for reports of a second extramarital affair.

If Mr Sullivan and Mr Tillis hold on to their seats, Republicans will need to win at least one of the two races in Georgia to maintain their majority if Mr Biden wins the White House since his running mate Kamala Harris would serve as the tiebreaking vote in a split Senate.

Under Georgia’s unique election law, a Senate race goes to a run-off in January if no candidate gains more than 50 per cent of the vote.

The Republican incumbent David Perdue is teetering on the 50 per cent threshold. However, it remains unclear whether he can avoid a runoff against Democrat Jon Ossoff as the state continues to count its ballots.

In Georgia’s other race, the incumbent Kelly Loeffler was also unable to pass the 50 per cent threshold because another Republican running to her right has split the conservative vote. She is expected to move into a run-off election with Democrat Raphael Warnock, raising the possibility that control of the Senate could come down to the Loeffler-Warnock race in January.

A Republican-held Senate could force Mr Biden to significantly curtail his agenda and rely extensively on executive orders to pursue his agenda.

And while Democrats are still on track to retain control of the House of Representatives, Republicans have cut into their majority and picked up several seats. After flipping 43 seats in the 2018 midterm elections, Democrats have already lost seven seats and could lose as many as 12 once all ballots are counted.

Mr Biden’s poor showing in Florida appears to have helped tank two House Democrats.

Donna Shalala lost to Cuban American journalist Maria Elvira Salazar. And Debbie Mucarsel-Powell lost to Carlos Gimenez, a former mayor of Miami-Dade County. Despite their record as centrists, Ms Shalala’s and Ms Mucarsel-Powell’s opponents tied them to the Democratic-socialist wing of the party, which is anathema to large swathes of the Cuban American community living in Florida.

House Democrats also lost seats in South Carolina, Iowa, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Minnesota.