The country is just a few days away from an election that will determine whether Democrats or Republicans will control one or both houses of Congress.

Voters across the country will make that decision Tuesday, Nov. 8, when they go to the polls

All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election along with 35 seats in the 100-member U.S. Senate.

The forecast is for the country to vote for gridlock.

Based on pre-election polling of samples of voters, abortion-condemning Republicans who have embraced and spread the lie that President Biden did not legitimately win the 2020 election are expected to easily win more than the 218 House seats needed for a majority.

Democrats now hold 220 seats to 212 for the GOP, with three vacancies.

However, with inflation running rampant, violent crime on the upswing and the president’s popularity low, Republicans are predicted to win at least 225 seats and possibly as many as 243 seats, more than enough to remove California Democrat Nancy Pelosi as House speaker and replace her with California Republican Kevin McCarthy.

Republicans also have a chance to win the Senate, now split 50-50 with tie-breaking Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris able to give her party a slight majority, according to polls and pundits.

Political watchers are following races ranked as neck-and-neck in 10 states that will decide control: Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin.

Richmond voters, who are in Virginia’s 4th Congressional District, will have little say in the matter.

The only contest on the ballot is a rematch between three-

term incumbent Rep. A. Donald McEachin and his unheralded Republican challenger, the Rev. Leon Benjamin, an election denier who has refused to accept the 2020 election despite being drubbed by a three-to-one margin.

Rep. McEachin is confident of winning and has barely mounted a campaign. So far there is no indication that Rev. Benjamin has made any inroads. A few yard signs are about the only indicator that he is in the race in a district that is regarded as a safe Democratic seat.

Democrats currently hold seven of the state’s 11 House seats, all of which have been redrawn to reflect the population changes reported in the 2020 Census, with closely watched contests in three of those districts.

Three incumbent Democratic woman, who first won in 2018, are battling three Republican challengers.

Topping the list is the 2nd Congressional District contest around Virginia Beach and Norfolk that pits incumbent Democrat Elaine Luria, a retired Navy commander, against Republican state Sen. Jen Kiggans, a retired Navy helicopter pilot and nurse practitioner.

Another big contest is in the largely rural 7th Congressional District in Central Virginia where incumbent Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA officer, is battling Yesli Vega, a member of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors and a former police officer who is vying to become Virginia’s first Latina representative in Congress.

Finally, there is the race in the 10th District in Northern Virginia where incumbent Democratic Rep. Jennifer Wexton, a lawyer, is seeking to hold off Republican challenger Hung Cao, a retired Navy captain.

How much the change will matter to ordinary Americans remains to be seen.

Even if they win control, Republicans would have a tough time installing a conservative agenda.

If the predictions prove right, the GOP would still lack the 60 votes needed to push most legislation through the Senate and they would lack the supermajorities needed to override a presidential veto.