[U.S. Midterm Elections] Democrats lead in early vote count; forecaster gives them a 100% chance of retaking the House

[Financial News] As vote counting in the midterm elections to determine the balance of power in the U.S. Congress proceeds smoothly, early returns show the opposition Democrats in the lead.
As of 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time on the 3rd, vote counting is underway, beginning with Kentucky and Indiana, the first states to close their polls.
According to the U.S. election-focused website Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ), at this point Democrats had secured 90 of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives, while Republicans had secured 66.
It put the odds of Democrats winning and reclaiming the House majority for the first time in four years at 100%.
DDHQ puts the odds of Democrats winning a Senate majority by taking 51 seats at 72%, compared with a 28% chance of a Republican victory.
None of the seven battleground states that will decide control of the Senate has been called yet, but Democrats are leading in these races as well.
However, it is too early to predict which party will win a Senate majority, since mail-in and early votes—believed to include more voters who lean Democratic—are counted first.
In Ohio, with 35% of the vote counted, Democratic candidate Sherrod Brown is leading with 56.80% of the vote, ahead of Republican candidate Jon Husted (39.72%).
In Texas, with 30% of the vote counted, Democratic candidate James Talarico has received 56.87%, ahead of Republican candidate Ken Paxton
(41.55%), whom the Democratic candidate is outpolling.
Democratic candidates are also leading in other battleground states, including Kansas, where less than 30% of the vote has been counted, as well as Michigan and Maine.
Even setting aside Iowa and Alaska, where counting has not yet begun, the party that wins four of the seven battleground states will take a Senate majority. If the results solidify along these lines, Democrats would win.
Moreover, in South Carolina, where pre-election polls had shown Republicans with a slight edge, Democratic candidate Annie Andrews is leading with 52.52% of the vote, ahead of Republican Lindsey Graham (45.95%), with 46% of the vote counted.
NBC has begun announcing, one by one, the candidates it has projected to win in various areas using its own projection system.
NBC reported that it projected victories in the U.S. Senate races for Mark Warner (Democrat) in Virginia, Jon Ossoff (Democrat) in Georgia, Ed Markey (Democrat) in Massachusetts, Jack Reed (Democrat) in Rhode Island, Cory Booker (Democrat) in New Jersey, Juliana Stratton (Democrat) in Illinois, Chris Coons (Democrat) in Delaware, Chris Pappas (Democrat) in New Hampshire, Roy Cooper (Democrat) in North Carolina, Ashley Moody (Republican) in Florida, and Shelley Moore Capito (Republican) in West Virginia.
In the gubernatorial races, it projected victories for Josh Shapiro (Democrat) in Pennsylvania, Maura Healey (Democrat) in Massachusetts, Wes Moore (Democrat) in Maryland, J.B. Pritzker (Democrat) in Illinois, and Helena Foulkes (Democrat) in Rhode Island.
[email protected] Lee Seok-woo, International Affairs Correspondent Reporter