Two weeks after election day, there are still 5 uncalled races in the House. The current score is Republicans 218-212, but that 218 includes Gaetz, who has already resigned. Of the four uncalled races in the Lower 48, each party currently leads in two. As the West Coast vote continues to dribble in, Trump’s share of the national popular vote has now fallen below 50.0%, with his margin currently down to +1.8%, the narrowest such margin since 2000.

The fifth uncalled House race is Alaska. While the Republican Begich has declared victory, his margin over Rep. Peltola is currently 48.5 – 46.3 on first preference votes only. So, ranked choice will come into play here. The other 2 candidates who advanced out of the primary are a Democrat (1.0%) and a member of the Alaska Independence Party (3.9%). There was no AIP candidate in the top 4 ballot in 2022, so we don’t have any historical experience on how AIP voters might redistribute under RCV, although I tend to think they would go largely red.

Speaking of ranked choice, the Alaska ballot initiative to repeal a jungle primary with 4 advancers followed by a RCV general election had been ahead since election night, but as of last night “no” has finally pulled ahead, 50.03% – 49.97%. And up in Maine’s 2nd, Democratic Rep. Golden had a plurality but not a majority in the first choice votes, and remained on top after redistribution.

And speaking of Gaetz, there is reporting suggesting that his nomination for Attorney General is in trouble, but Trump is sticking with him for now, perhaps as a lightning rod. The House Ethics committee report on Gaetz remains unreleased, but there is reporting that the committee had heard testimony from a woman that Gaetz had paid for sex when she was only 17, and further reporting today that this testimony has been accessed by an unknown hacker.

In other news, the final disposition of New York v. Trump remains unclear. Trump has indicated he will be filing a motion to dismiss the indictment, now that he is President-Elect; D.A. Bragg has indicated he will oppose that motion, but agrees that further proceedings – in particular, sentencing – may need to be stayed pending the conclusion of Trump’s second term.