Weeks before Election Day, here’s where the races for president, Congress stand

With Election Day just 21 days away, some Americans have already voted.
Early voting has begun in a slew of states, including battlegrounds like Arizona, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
Here is a look at where things stand heading into the final three weeks of the campaign:
No matter how you look at the polls, there really is no clear indication of who is the favorite to win this year’s presidential election. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have their eyes set on the all-important battleground states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
If the Electoral College map holds as expected outside of those seven states, Harris would hold a 226-219 lead with 93 electors up for grabs. It takes 270 votes in the Electoral College to become president.
Recent polls all show the seven states within the margin of error, which is generally about 3%.
Harris has 1-point leads in Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. That would give Harris a 276-262 advantage, but if she were to lose either Michigan, Wisconsin or Pennsylvania and not pick up any other state, Trump would win the presidency.
The 2000 and 2020 elections were both incredibly close and because of the narrow margins, it was not immediately clear on election night who won the presidency.
If the 2024 election ends up being as close as those two elections, most experts believe it could take days for a winner to be determined.
Mail-in ballots could delay a race call. Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are among the states that cannot start processing early ballots until Election Day. Because it can take days for election officials to process the ballots, a winner likely won’t be determined in these states for several days, especially if the election is as close as expected. Georgia election officials are also asking county officials to count the number of ballots by hand, a rule that some expect could slow down certification in the state.
Another issue to pay attention to is how states release their ballots. For instance, Ohio has most of its early votes processed as polls close. Most Ohio counties tend to release their absentee counts before Election Day tallies. Because early votes tend to favor Democrats, they often take an early lead in the state despite it generally being Republican-leaning.
With Democrats unlikely to flip any GOP seats blue, Republicans likely just need to win a Senate seat in Montana or Ohio to pick up a majority. Recent polls show Republican Tim Sheehy slightly ahead of Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Tester in Montana. The Democratic incumbent in Ohio, Sen. Sherrod Brown has held a very narrow lead in recent polls.
Republicans are also hoping to pick up seats in Michigan and Wisconsin, although polls show a slight advantage for Democrats there.
There is one caveat as an interesting race in Nebraska suddenly drawn attention.
The Democrats have not endorsed a candidate in the race, but independent candidate Dan Osborn has led in several polls over Republican Deb Fischer. It’s unknown if Osborn would caucus with either party, but his candidacy has added a wrinkle to this year’s Senate race.
With Republicans holding a narrow advantage in the House, and all 435 seats up for grabs next month, it is unlikely either party would be able to take a significant advantage in the chamber.
there are 207 seats that at least lean Republican, and 202 that at least lean Democratic. It takes 218 seats to earn a majority. Republicans would need to win 11 out of 26 “toss-up” seats to win the House. Democrats would need to take 16 out of 26 to take control.
Of the 26 seats considered toss-ups, 14 are currently held by Republicans, 12 by Democrats. Democrats are at least the slight favorite to take two seats held by Republicans.