Iowa is now out of the way. Obviously, the campaign for president is getting all the attention. But there are other potentially vital campaigns just starting. They may play a significant role in who is the next president. Those are races for members of the U. S. House of Representatives. Why so?
In the unsettled political environment today where polls change near daily, third parties may make an appearance, independent candidates are floating trial balloons and No Labels continues to work on access to more state ballots. The result could be that no presidential candidate will garner the necessary 270 electoral votes to become president.
What happens then explains why the make-up of the House of Representatives is so important. The Constitution lays out a plan for the Electoral College, Article 2, Section 1, Clause 3. That plan sends the decision to the House where each state has one presidential vote. The presidential candidate must have 26 states (votes) to win.
That’s why the 2024 election for the U. S. House of Representatives is so important to the two political parties. Likewise for any third party that may emerge. For example. prior to the 2022 elections, Democrats had a majority in the Arizona’s House delegation in Congress. In the 2022 elections, Republicans captured a majority of the Arizona delegation seats in the House. Could that be reversed in 2024 again? North Carolina is currently tied at 7-7. Alaska has only one House Member, currently, that is a Democrat. What party might win the majority in 2024?
The outcome will depend on which party is in control of the state’s delegation. One would have to assume that if more than two presidential candidates make it to the House, political parties may not be the driving factor in determining a state’s delegation’s vote. However, it’s important to note its not the current Congress but the one elected November 5th who will make up each state’s delegation. They will be sworn in January 3, 2025. That’s why the current House races are so vitally important to both Republicans & Democrats.
Not to be forgotten is the U. S. Senate. They select the vice president. Each Senator has one vote.