'I don't think we're going to make it': Democrats' hopes for House majority dim - POLITICO

Democrats’ slim hopes to clasp the House bulk dimmed Monday, with the enactment apt not having capable runway successful the remaining uncalled seats to squeak retired a win.

As of precocious Monday evening, conscionable 17 House seats stay uncalled, with 214 seats projected for Republicans and 204 for Democrats truthful far. Democrats would person to astir tally the array to clasp the chamber, winning 14 of the past 17 seats — a near-impossible task aft a brace of battleground seats successful Arizona went for Republicans Monday night.

It is simply a world that Democratic Party leaders, including President Joe Biden, person acknowledged.

“I deliberation we’re going to get precise adjacent successful the House,” Biden told reporters earlier successful the day at the G-20 acme successful Indonesia connected Monday. “I deliberation it’s going to beryllium precise close, but I don’t deliberation we’re going to marque it.”

Republicans scored a brace of large wins Monday nighttime that each but guarantees their House majority, adjacent if it is progressively looking similar it volition beryllium a precise slim win. In the state’s 1st District, GOP Rep. David Schweikert narrowly defeated Democrat Jevin Hodge, portion Republican Juan Ciscomani bushed retired Democrat Kirsten Engel successful the unfastened 6th District.

Many of the uncalled races are successful California, which has historically taken longer than astir different states to number votes. Of the 8 California seats POLITICO forecasted arsenic competitory up of the election, Democrats pb successful 3 — incumbents Katie Porter, Mike Levin and Josh Harder — and Republicans successful the remainder, though determination are galore much votes to beryllium tallied.

That Democrats person not been mathematically eliminated from having a way to a bulk this precocious aft the predetermination is simply a astonishing turnaround from pre-election predictions. Confident Republicans had predicted a “red wave” adjacent connected the greeting of the election, and their theoretical House bulk — should they prevail successful the last tally — volition apt beryllium a constrictive 1 of nary much than a fistful of seats.

There are important enactment questions for 3 of the 4 legislature caucuses, with lone Senate Democrats — nether Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — having seemingly landed connected their enactment leader. On the House side, the close flank of the Republican Party is openly questioning ways to muddy oregon wholly artifact Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s path to the speaker’s gavel should the GOP yet fastener up the chamber. And determination are questions astir the aboriginal of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her octogenarian deputies successful Democratic leadership.

The triumvirate was expected to measurement speech aft this year’s midterms, though Democrats’ better-than-expected predetermination whitethorn person changed that calculus. Pelosi pointedly did not marque immoderate commitments astir her governmental aboriginal connected appearances connected assorted Sunday shows this weekend, telling CNN’s Dana Bash that “my members are asking maine to consider” remaining successful enactment leadership.

And successful the Senate, a tiny but vocal cadre of Republicans person been pushing for a delay to their enactment elections, an implicit rebuke of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, aft being relegated to the number for astatine slightest different term.

The publically stated reasoning for galore of those Republicans is the looming Senate runoff betwixt Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker successful Georgia. Although that Dec. 6 predetermination won’t determine the bulk successful the Senate, it inactive could person large consequences for power of the chamber.

One important quality from this year’s runoffs and the ones successful January of 2021 — erstwhile Warnock defeated then-Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Democrat Jon Ossoff defeated then-Sen. David Perdue to triumph Democrats a Senate bulk — is the timing. After the brace of runoff losses, Republicans successful the authorities changed the instrumentality to shorten the timeframe. Instead of a nine-week campaign, this year’s runoff is successful aboriginal December — a short, four-week sprint.

One effect of the condensed runoff run is simply a importantly shorter aboriginal voting play — including seemingly nary Saturday aboriginal voting successful this election, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Sunday. Voters volition besides person overmuch little clip to petition and instrumentality mail-in ballots.

Looming implicit the fast-approaching runoff is erstwhile President Donald Trump, who is wide expected to denote a 2024 statesmanlike tally connected Tuesday evening astatine his Florida estate. That announcement, planned and scheduled successful beforehand of past week’s midterms, has stoked interest among immoderate successful the GOP that the erstwhile president’s 2024 run mightiness reactivate the aforesaid electorate that outgo Republicans 2 Senate seats successful 2021.

Monday evening besides brought to an extremity the biggest uncalled contention extracurricular of Georgia: The Arizona governor’s race, wherever Democrat Katie Hobbs narrowly bushed retired Republican Kari Lake.

Hobbs — the state’s outgoing caput of authorities — squeezed past Lake, a erstwhile TV anchor and Trump acolyte. Her triumph was projected by astir media outlets precocious Monday, aft the last important ballot tally from Maricopa County, the state’s largest county, was released. Lake was not capable to marque up capable crushed to bushed Hobbs successful those last tallies, making Hobbs the archetypal Democratic politician successful implicit a decade.

The contention betwixt the 2 women was an incredibly contentious one. Lake was arguably the loudest pro-Trump statewide campaigner moving for bureau anyplace successful the state this cycle, proudly repeating Trump’s lies astir a “stolen” 2020 predetermination that Hobbs, successful part, oversaw successful Arizona arsenic caput of state.

“For the Arizonans who did not ballot for me, I volition enactment conscionable arsenic hard for you — due to the fact that adjacent successful this infinitesimal of division, I judge determination is truthful overmuch much that connects us,” Hobbs said successful a connection soon aft her win.

There was important fears earlier the predetermination that Republican candidates similar Lake, who parroted mendacious claims of a rigged predetermination system, would not concede their ain losses. But largely, adjacent those who clung to the mythology of a stolen predetermination successful 2020 softly conceded their ain contests this year.

Lake did not instantly merchandise a nationalist concession to Hobbs precocious Monday.

Besides Arizona, Alaska’s Senate, gubernatorial, and at-large House races stay uncalled. That’s owed successful portion to some the remoteness of the authorities — which requires much clip for ballots to scope predetermination officials — and the state’s caller ranked prime voting system. There, GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy appears poised to triumph different term, portion Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, who won a peculiar predetermination implicit the summer, seems well-positioned to triumph a afloat word erstwhile the ranked prime tabulation is complete.

And portion Republicans are acceptable to clasp Alaska’s Senate seat, it is not yet wide who volition correspond the past frontier successful the chamber. Trump-backed challenger Kelly Tshibaka narrowly leads incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski, but the contention volition apt travel down to the important fig of voters who didn’t ballot for either pistillate successful the archetypal circular — a radical of ballots that is anticipated to favour Murkowski.