In the 2018 midterm elections, the Democrats won control of the House and had a net gain of more than 40 seats from their total after the 2016 elections (including one seat gained previously with Conor Lamb's March 2018 special election victory). This was their largest gain of seats since the 1974 elections, when they picked up 49 seats.
Election ratings
Latest published ratings for competitive seats
Several sites and individuals publish ratings of competitive seats. The seats listed below were considered competitive (not "safe" or "solid") by at least one of the rating groups. These ratings are based upon factors such as the strength of the incumbent (if the incumbent is running for re-election), the strength of the candidates, and the partisan history of the district (the Cook Partisan Voting Index is one example of this metric). Each rating describes the likelihood of a given outcome in the election.
Most election ratings use:
Tossup: no advantage
Tilt (sometimes used): very slight advantage
Lean: significant, but not overwhelming advantage
Likely: strong, but not certain advantage
Safe or Solid: outcome is nearly certain
The following are the latest published ratings for competitive seats.