Update, 12:25 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026: Still no AP calls on the five Florida districts. National House tally moved to Democrats 247, Republicans 153, with 35 uncalled. See the midday edition story for refreshed DOS margins.

TALLAHASSEE, FL, Nov. 5, 2026 — More than a day after polls closed, five Florida U.S. House races were still too close for The Associated Press to call, and the state's unofficial vote totals in those districts hadn't moved overnight.

AP's Florida results page, read at 6:12 a.m. Thursday, still listed leaders — but no winners — in Districts 7, 9, 13, 26 and 27. Each race showed a margin of less than 1 percentage point with about 99% of the expected vote counted, the same status AP showed Wednesday evening.

The Florida Department of State's unofficial Election Watch file, refreshed for Launchpad's results page Thursday morning, still showed 100% of precincts reporting in those five districts and the same candidate totals as Wednesday:

  • District 7: Republican Ryan Elijah 161,019 (49.8%), Democrat Bale Dalton 159,113 (49.2%), Libertarian Christopher Dennison 3,471 (1.1%). Margin: 1,906 votes.
  • District 9: Democrat Darren Soto 143,174 (50.3%), Republican Dan Green 141,697 (49.7%). Margin: 1,477 votes.
  • District 13: Republican Anna Paulina Luna 155,117 (49.5%), Democrat Leela Gray 152,600 (48.7%), no-party candidate Tony D'Arrigo 5,779 (1.8%). Margin: 2,517 votes.
  • District 26: Republican Mario Diaz-Balart 114,547 (49.9%), Democrat Nicole Locklin 112,775 (49.1%), no-party candidate Deborah Ann Meidinger Hosey 2,348 (1.0%). Margin: 1,772 votes.
  • District 27: Republican Maria Elvira Salazar 124,474 (50.2%), Democrat Eliott Rodriguez 123,358 (49.8%). Margin: 1,116 votes.

Launchpad is waiting for an AP call before labeling any of those five as decided. Some outlets have already reported a winner in District 27; AP has not.

Why these five are stuck

Florida law orders a machine recount when unofficial returns show a candidate lost by one-half of a percent or less of the votes cast for the office, under s. 102.141(7), Florida Statutes. By Launchpad's math from the state's current unofficial totals, District 27's margin is about 0.45% of votes cast and District 9's is about 0.52%. Counties' canvassing boards are still reviewing provisional and vote-by-mail ballots. Unofficial county returns are due by noon Saturday, Nov. 7; the state certifies on Nov. 16.

AP says it calls a race only when it determines the trailing candidate no longer has a path to catch up. That standard, not the precinct-reporting percentage alone, is why these five remain open even with every precinct listed as reported in the state file.

The national picture at 6:12 a.m.

AP's projected national tallies, also read at 6:12 a.m. Thursday from its public results pages:

  • House (AP): Democrats 240, Republicans 147, with 48 races still to be called. A majority is 218 seats. Of races AP has called, Democrats have 235 wins and Republicans 146; Democrats lead in 25 uncalled races and Republicans in 28.
  • Senate (AP): Democrats 54, Republicans 44, with 2 races still to be called. A majority is 51. Those totals include seats that weren't on the ballot this year (34 Democratic, 31 Republican).
  • Governors (AP): Democrats 28, Republicans 20, with 2 races still to be called.

Those House and Senate majorities were already projected Wednesday. Overnight calls narrowed the "to be called" count from 51 House races at Wednesday evening's 6:13 p.m. AP update to 48 at Thursday's 6:12 a.m. read. The Senate figure was unchanged at two uncalled races.

What Florida's close races decide

They won't decide control of the House. They will decide how large Democrats' majority is and whether Florida's U.S. House delegation stays at 20 Republicans and 8 Democrats, the split Gov. Ron DeSantis described Wednesday when he said the state "had 20 Republicans … and we have 20 now," Florida Politics reported. That count only holds if the four uncalled races where Republicans lead stay Republican and Soto holds District 9.

Florida's statewide races are already called by AP: Republican Byron Donalds for governor, Republican Ashley Moody for the U.S. Senate special election, and the Republican Cabinet slate. See our statewide results story.

What's next

Watch AP's Florida and national pages for calls, and the state's Election Watch file for any change in the unofficial totals as canvassing boards finish. Launchpad's live results page shows both the AP projected tallies and Florida's unofficial Department of State counts.

Sources: AP Florida results (6:12 a.m. Nov. 5); AP U.S. House; AP U.S. Senate; AP governors; Florida Department of State Election Watch file via Launchpad election-2026; s. 102.141(7), F.S.; Florida Politics.

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