How many seats do Democrats and Republicans each hold in the current 118th US House of Representatives?

1. How many seats did each party hold — the CRS snapshot

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) profile of the 118th Congress gives a clear numerical snapshot used by many observers: 220 Republicans and 211 Democrats in the House, with four vacant seats; delegates and Puerto Rico’s resident commissioner are reported separately ^{[1] [2]}. CRS explicitly frames this as the House composition during the 118th, and those figures are widely cited in legislative reference material ^{[1] [2]}.

2. Why other counts sometimes show 222–213

Multiple accounts trace the initial post‑election alignment to a 222–213 Republican edge after the 2022 midterms; that 222–213 margin is the election result frequently quoted in contemporaneous reporting and encyclopedic summaries ^{[3] [4] [5]}. That larger number fluctuated during the two‑year term because of deaths, resignations, expulsions and special elections — processes that temporarily change the raw seat counts until seats are filled ^{[6] [7]}.

3. Vacancies and special elections changed the arithmetic

Congressional records and CRS note that the 118th experienced multiple vacancies and a series of special elections (CRS says there were 11 special elections during the 118th to date in its tracking, and elsewhere the total number of vacancies cited reached double digits), which is why “222–213” can differ from the later 220–211 snapshot ^{[7] [1] [2]}. Those procedural seat changes — not a single nationwide re‑count — account for the shift in party raw totals over the two‑year term ^{[7] [1]}.

4. Non‑voting delegates and reporting conventions

Sources separate voting representatives (435 seats) from non‑voting delegates (territories and DC) and the resident commissioner of Puerto Rico; CRS explicitly notes delegates in addition to the party tallies for voting members ^{[1] [2]}. Different outlets sometimes fold or separate those figures in tables, which can create apparent discrepancies if a reader does not check whether delegates are included ^[1].

5. How journalists and data services present the numbers

Encyclopedic and journalistic summaries commonly report the election‑day makeup (Republicans ~222, Democrats ~213) as the most newsworthy immediate outcome of the 2022 midterms, then update to a running composition count as vacancies and special elections occur — the CRS reported 220–211 as a later, widely cited composition ^{[3] [1] [2]}. Data services that maintain continuously updated rosters (for example, The Green Papers or House Press Gallery) track individual seat changes and will show the evolving totals ^{[6] [8]}.

6. What to watch when interpreting a “current” count

When someone asks “how many seats do each party hold,” clarify whether they mean election‑day results, the roster at a particular date, or the legal composition excluding vacancies. The 118th’s election‑day result commonly cited is Republicans 222 to Democrats 213 ^{[3] [4] [5]}; CRS’s later roster snapshot lists Republicans 220, Democrats 211, and 4 vacancies with delegates counted separately ^{[1] [2]}. Official and institutional counts vary by timestamp and whether vacancies or delegates are included ^{[7] [1]}.

Limitations and unanswered details

Available sources in your packet do not provide a single day‑by‑day ledger here; they offer election results and CRS/official snapshots plus notes on special elections and vacancies. If you need the precise, date‑stamped roster for a particular day within the 118th Congress (for example: exactly on June 1, 2024), consult the House Press Gallery roster or an official Clerk’s historical membership table ^{[8] [6]}. These sources in the search set confirm the two commonly cited framings — election result (222–213) and CRS roster snapshot (220–211 with 4 vacancies) — and explain why both figures appear in reporting ^{[3] [1] [2]}.