Dejected Democrats look to House as ‘only hope’
(The Hill) -- For Democrats around the country, the last hope rests in the House.
The party lost control of the Senate on Tuesday, as expected. And by the early hours of Wednesday, Decision Desk HQ projected that former President Donald Trump would win the presidency, securing the 270 electoral votes he needed to defeat Vice President Kamala Harris and return to the White House next year for a second term.
Only the House remains unresolved, leaving the battle for the lower chamber as the Democrats’ last chance to control a lever of power in Washington — and push back on the second Trump administration.
It’s a dynamic that hasn’t been overlooked by Democrats, who were dejected by their party’s performance and watching anxiously for signs that all was not lost.
“In terms of the power trifecta, the House is the only hope for Democrats to maintain a check on our out of control Donald Trump,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), a 15-year veteran of the lower chamber, told The Hill in an interview early Wednesday morning.
“The results tonight are grim … for the country, and Democrats offer those who believe in constitutional democracy the only hope of presence in the White House and an enabling Republican Senate,” he continued. “So a lot is hinging on district-by-district results tonight.”
Democrats saw a few bright spots in shooting for that goal.
They defeated at least two incumbent Republicans in New York — Reps. Marc Molinaro and Brandon Williams — according to The Associated Press and Decision Desk HQ, respectively, and appeared on track to pick off Rep. Anthony D’Esposito.
As of the early hours of Wednesday morning, Democratic Nebraska state Sen. Tony Vargas (D) had an edge over GOP Rep. Don Bacon, who’s been on their target list for almost a decade. In Oregon, Democratic challenger Janelle Bynum was leading first-term Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who is one of their best pick-up opportunities. And in Washington, Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez had the advantage over her GOP opponent for a seat Republicans have fought hard to flip.
Democrats retained control of the open Virginia seat that Republicans had hoped to flip, and several of their most vulnerable incumbents put wins on the board, including Rep. Pat Ryan (D) in New York, Don Davis in North Carolina, and Gabe Vasquez in New Mexico.
But Republicans also saw bright spots. Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) fended off a tough challenge, and Republican Tom Barrett flipped an open seat in Michigan being vacated by Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin.
Republicans were leading in some key Pennsylvania races over Democratic incumbents, with Rep. Matt Cartwright trailing GOP challenger Rob Bresnahan and GOP state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie having an edge over Rep. Susan Wild (D).
Dozens of competitive races remain uncalled, including a handful in California that could take weeks to resolve.
Democrats need a net gain of at least four seats to win control of the House.
Connolly — who won re-election by more than 33 percentage points on Tuesday — said he was not optimistic or pessimistic about Democrats’ chances of winning the chamber, acknowledging that both parties have a path to the majority.
“I’m neither,” he said. “I’m in the anxious and anticipatory mood.”
“The House, the battle for the House has always been a battle of ground math,” he continued. “There’s no tide, sweeping House races. So it is a battle fought out district-by-district.”
Trump, however, did not skip a beat in declaring victory for House Republicans. During his victory speech in West Palm Beach, Fla., early Wednesday morning, the president-elect predicted that he will have a House GOP majority alongside him in Washington next year.
“It also looks like we’ll be keeping control of the House of Representatives,” Trump said. “And I want to thank [Speaker] Mike Johnson. I think he’s doing a terrific job.”
Other Republicans tempered their expectations.
“Not doing declarations, and there’s not a lot out to come in, but I’d rather be us than them in the House,” said Dan Conston, the head of the Congressional Leadership Fund, the main super PAC aligned with House GOP leadership.
Another GOP strategist familiar with House races concurred.
“We are confident we will hold the House majority when this is all said and done, and we still see a pathway to picking up seats,” the GOP strategist said. “Still more to come in, but what we are seeing is encouraging.”
Some of the races could stretch out to recounts or legal battles. But in the meantime, there could be plenty of posturing.
The campaign for Rep. Marienette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) — who won her first election in 2020 by just six votes — declared victory early Wednesday morning despite a lack of race calls for the ultra-close race, saying the 400-vote lead made them “confident in a positive result when all votes are counted.”