Recent Developments

• Presidential electoral votes remain unclaimed in six states (Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, and Pennsylvania), currently leaving the two presidential candidates with an electoral vote count of Biden (264) – Trump (214).
  • Election updates from those states are expected today:
    • Georgia (10:30 a.m. ET) – 16 electoral votes
      • In the 10:30 a.m. report, Georgia noted the gap had closed to 15,000 votes with approximately 60,000 yet to count.
    • Nevada (12:00 p.m. ET) – 6 electoral votes
    • Pennsylvania (6:00 p.m. ET) – 20 electoral votes
    • Arizona (9:00 p.m. ET) – 11 electoral votes
    • Alaska (TBD) – 3 electoral votes
• With four Senate races yet to be decided, Republicans and Democrats each hold 48 seats.
  • Two of these seats will likely be declared soon (Alaska and one of two Georgia contested Senate seats), which could give the Republicans 50 seats.
  • However, North Carolina is too close to call. The Georgia Senate seat held by Sen. Loeffler will go to a runoff election on January 6, 2021. Thus, control of the U.S. Senate may not be certain until January 7, 2021.
• Democrats will retain control of the U.S. House of Representatives with 41 House races yet to be finalized. Currently, Democrats hold 208 seats and Republicans hold 190 with 218 needed for a majority.
  • After this election, House Democrats will likely see a reduction from their existing majority of 232 seats to the Republicans' 197 seats.

Congress Returns for Lame Duck Session

• The Senate returns to business Monday, November 9 under a cloud of uncertainty.
• The House will return on November 16.
• There will be a concerted effort to push forward legislation that will likely include either an omnibus spending agreement or another Continuing Resolution (CR) before the current CR expires on December 11.
• Additionally, Congress will look for extensions on items set to expire, such as individual tax cuts.
• Both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have also indicated that they want to reach an agreement another COVID-19 relief package before the end of the year.