Joe Biden is now the favorite to win the presidency, and Republicans are favored to keep Senate control—but these results are far from certain. And Democrats failed to win the resounding victory that pre-election polls had suggested they could.
While Democrats will likely hold their control of the House of Representatives, Republicans had big wins for Tuesday's election that could narrow Democrats majority and diminish Speaker Nancy Pelosi's power.
Republicans flipped back several key seats that Democrats won in the 2018 midterms, unseating freshmen incumbents in South Florida, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Iowa, as well as a Minnesota lawmaker who was one of the chamber's longest-serving members. Republicans defied all pollsters' predictions on Tuesday night and stemmed another 'blue wave'—a stark contrast to 2018, when Democrats picked up seats. Many of these in suburban areas—that helped flip the House from Republican control to a Democratic majority.
The Cook Political Report's David Wasserman suggested earlier today on Twitter, that "Republicans defied the polls in the House and may be on track to pick up 7-12 seats. A few takeaways: 1) Dems suffered a catastrophic loss of Hispanic support that cost key seats, 2) "Suburban revolt" never really progressed from '18, and 3) GOP likely to double its ranks of women"
Here are some highlights and key takeaways:
~Democrats saw losses by two freshman congresswomen in districts that represent Miami-Dade County, Florida's most populous county. Republicans flipped FL-26 & 27, with Maria Elvira Salazar defeating Rep. Donna Shalala and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez ousting Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.
~Minnesota Congressman Collin Peterson, who represented his rural district for three decades, lost a tough bid for reelection against former Republican Lt. Gov. Michelle Fischbach. Republicans won the MN-7 by 14 points, and Fischbach is the first Republican woman to hold this seat.
~In South Carolina, State Rep. Nancy Mace beat one-term Congressman Joe Cunningham in an extremely competitive race—despite being out-raised and outspent. Mace, the first woman to graduate from the Citadel, will also become the first Republican woman to represent SC-1. Mace is one of at least 22 Republican women who were elected last night.
Read more here on the 22 Republican women who have been elected to the House of Representatives.
~In North Carolina, Madison Cawthorn won the seat vacated by White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Cawthorn, age 25, will become the youngest person elected to Congress since the 1700s. He will be the first Member of Congress born in the 1990s. Cawthorn, who uses a wheelchair after surviving a near-fatal car accident at age 18,spoke at the at the Republican National Convention in August, where he made it a point to stand during portions of the Pledge of Allegiance at the end of his speech.
~Texas was a massive disappointment for Democrats, who invested millions in targeting 10 seats and even opened a satellite DCCC office in Austin. They failed to flip the massive West Texas seat held by retiring GOP Rep. Will Hurd—a district that Hillary Clinton carried in 2016.
Regardless of what happens down at 1400 Pennsylvania Avenue, the Democratic party did not receive a mandate from the American people and Democratic gains in the House of Representatives emphatically did not occur. And like Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said, "Nancy Pelosi: you've been put on notice".
Follow here for more House of Representatives election results.
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