Republicans are close to winning control of the US House of Representatives | House of Representatives

Republicans appeared on Saturday to be close to taking control of the U.S. House of Representatives, a crucial element for Donald Trump to advance his agenda when the president-elect returns to the White House in January.

With votes from the Nov. 5 general election still being counted, Republicans had gained 212 seats in the 435-member House of Representatives, according to Edison Research. The firm predicted Friday night that Republican Jeff Hurd had enough votes to retain Republican control of Colorado's third congressional district.

Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez won re-election to a U.S. House seat representing Washington state on Saturday, the Associated Press reported, defeating Republican Joe Kent in a rematch of one of the closest races of 2022.

Gluesenkamp Perez won the seat two years ago by just over 2,600 votes. Before she was elected, Gluesenkamp Perez ran an auto repair shop in a rural part of the district, which played an important role in her campaign.

The Republican-leaning district that Donald Trump carried in 2020 includes the southwestern part of the state and some suburbs of Portland, Oregon, which spill into Washington state.

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Republicans need to win six more seats to retain control of the House of Representatives, and they already have enough victories to wrest control of the U.S. Senate from Democrats, although Edison Research predicted late Friday that the Democratic U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen won re-election in Nevada.

Rosen was a moderate in his first term in a presidential battleground state and was one of Republicans' top targets. She campaigned on reducing costs for the middle class, defending abortion rights and addressing the climate crisis. Over the summer, she introduced legislation that would allow extreme heat to qualify as a disaster under federal law, citing heat waves that have devastated the West.

With Trump's victory in the presidential election and Republican control of the Senate already decided, remaining in the House would give Republicans broad authority to potentially push through a sweeping agenda of tax and spending cuts, energy deregulation and border security controls.

The results of 19 House races remain unclear, especially in electoral districts in western states where vote counting is typically slower than in the rest of the country.

Ten of the seats are currently held by Republicans and nine by Democrats. Fourteen seats were widely considered contested before the election.

Republican senators will decide next week who will serve as the party's Senate leader in 2025, with John Thune, John Cornyn and Rick Scott vying for the post. On Saturday, Senators Bill Hagerty and Rand Paul endorsed Scott over the elder Thune and Cornyn, who are considered favorites.

The Associated Press contributed to this report