Dem
48
Ties
3
GOP
49
In the Senate, not much happened, actually. If Kelly and Masto win in the end, then the only state that flipped for sure is Pennsylvania, and maybe Georgia, depending on the runoff. The House is a different story altogether. Normally, the president's party gets whacked badly in the president's first midterm. For example, Harry Truman's party lost 44 seats in 1950, Bill Clinton's party lost 53 seats in 1994, and Barack Obama's party lost 63 seats in 2010. Nothing like that is going to happen this year. The much-predicted "red wave" was more like a "pink ripple."
Many races are still too close to call. The Republicans are projected to win 207 seats and the Democrats 189, with 39 still up in the air, according to The New York Times. NBC News projects a final House with 222 Republicans and 213 Democrats. CBS News projects 210 Republicans, 200 Democrats, and 25 too close to call. The Washington Post has it at 205 for the Republicans, 183 for the Democrats and 47 too close to call. And 270towin.com projects 210 Republicans, 191 Democrats, and 34 too close to call. Undoubtedly, readers would like to know our projection as well, but we don't make House calls.
Some incumbents were defeated. These include Reps. Steve Chabot (R, OH-01), Mayra Flores (R, TX-34) Elaine Luria (D, VA-02), Tom Malinowski (D, NJ-07), and Sean Patrick Maloney (D, NY-17). Among races not yet called are the AK-AL race in which Sarah Palin is trying to beat Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) and CO-03, where, as we note above, Lauren Boebert is battling for her seat.
Despite extensive gerrymandering, North Carolina Republicans didn't get what they wanted. The House delegation split evenly, 7-7.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who normally doesn't get involved in House races, said: "Definitely not a Republican wave, that's for darn sure." He may not be the most courageous senator, but he is certainly the most polite one.
Most observers expect the Republicans to get a majority, but if it is a narrow majority, the speaker, possibly Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), won't be able to get his caucus to agree on anything except that Hunter Biden's laptop is a greater threat to America than the entire Russian nuclear arsenal.
McCarthy made it worse by setting a standard: 20 pickups. He said if the Republicans fewer than that, governing will be tough. It looks like he won't get to 20. It's going to be very tough for him, assuming he is elected speaker. He may have a very small margin. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is good at herding cats. Very good. If Lloyd Bentsen were with us, he might say: I knew Nancy Pelosi. I worked with Nancy Pelosi. Nancy Pelosi was my friend. Congressman, you are no Nancy Pelosi." (V)