Undecided Race Round Up: Nine Still Hang in the Balance

As freshman lawmakers head to the Hill this week for new member orientation, seven House races, one Senate contest, and one gubernatorial recount still hang in the balance.

Since AEHQ's last undecided race round up, Republican challenger Andy Barr in Kentucky's 6th congressional district conceded in his race against Democratic Rep. Ben Chandler. Barr folded after a recanvass of election results left Chandler with a 648-vote margin of victory. Here's the latest tally of undecided contests:

Alaska Senate: Write-in candidate and incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski is in the lead by just over 1,700 votes in her race against GOP nominee Joe Miller. An additional 8,800 ballots are expected to be counted Tuesday.

Minnesota governor: The expected recount in the race between leading Democrat Mark Dayton, and Republican Tom Emmer is scheduled to begin November 29. The state canvassing board is slated to certify a winner before Christmas, but the race could stretch into next year if either side takes the battle to court.

House Races

California's 11th: Democratic Rep. Jerry McNerney leads Republican challenger David Harmer in the latest count. Counties in California's Central Valley have until December 3rd to report final ballot counts.

California's 20th: Incumbent Democratic Rep. Jim Costa declared victory last Wednesday, but a week later, thousands of absentee and provisional ballots have yet to be counted. Costa leads opposing Republican Andy Vidak by just over 1,100 votes.

Illinois' 8th: Republican Joe Walsh is edging past Democrat Melissa Bean by a slim 347 votes. Part of the 8th congressional district, suburban Cook County around Chicago, is slated to provide a final tally of its absentee and provisional ballots to officials today.

New York's 1st: Thousands of absentee ballots have yet to be counted in Long Island, but Republican Randy Altschuler headed to the nation's capital to attend orientation for new House members. Incumbent Democrat Tim Bishop also stated his plans to head back to Washington to start working on next year's agenda. Bishop is trailing Altschuler by a slim margin.

New York's 25th: Democratic incumbent Dan Maffei has gone to court requesting a hand recount of paper ballots as absentee ballots continue to pour in. Republican Ann Marie Buerkle holds a slight lead.

North Carolina's 2nd: The race between Democratic Rep. Bob Etheridge and Republican candidate Renee Ellmers had been called for Ellmers, but Etheridge is pursuing a recount. Ellmers headed to Washington for this week's freshman orientation with Etheridge trailing by just under 1,500 votes.

Texas' 27th: Republican challenger Blake Farenthold is attending orientation with the rest of the freshman class, but not without a few unresolved election jitters. Farenthold was beating the 73-year old Democratic Rep. Solomon Ortiz by 799 votes following election night, but the race has yet to be certified - and Ortiz is jockeying for a recount.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.