The Republican red wave failed to materialize
The red wave that some predicted would sweep across the nation during the midterm election, on Tuesday, lacked the punch it was expected to deliver.
Democrats, meanwhile, breathed a sigh of relief as it became apparent that the Republican red wave failed to materialize. The GOP hit its high-water mark early in the evening, when projections from Florida showed that Sen. Marco Rubio and Gov. Ron DeSantis easily won their races. But it went downhill from there.
The biggest upset of the night was Democrat John Fetterman defeating Republican Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania. It was one of the country’s most closely watched Senate races.
Meanwhile, Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., seems to be slightly fa- vored over Herschel Walker, but it’s not clear if a run-off in December can be avoided.
Other election results across the board buoyed Democratic hopes. One of those races was Sen. Maggie Hassan retaining her New Hampshire seat. It’s one that Republicans had become increasingly bullish about in the final weeks of campaigning.
Several high-profile names held on in the House, as well: Reps. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio. In gubernatorial races, California Gov. Gavin Newsom enjoyed a comfortable win, as did New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. At least one race was a little close for comfort: New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan-Grisham (D) squeaked by challenger and former TV weatherman Mark Ronchetti (R). Two gubernatorial losses hit the Democrats hard. Stacey Abrams lost to Gov. Brian Kemp in Georgia and Rep. Beto O’Rourke lost to Gov. Greg Abbott in Texas. Both outcomes were expected since both candidates lagged in polling by significant margins, even though they were both seen as bright, rising stars in the Democratic party.
Despite the democratic wins, they are sure to lose some House seats and quite possibly their majority, but this was as good a midterms’ outcome as the Democrats could have hoped for.
The GOP, however, could only scrape out very modest gains despite powerful tailwinds in the shape of low approval ratings for President Joe Biden and high inflation. Fetterman’s victory was vital to Democrats.
The seat is being vacated by Republican Sen. Pat Toomey. Flipping the seat will give Democrats a buffer even if they lose Nevada or Arizona, where votes were still being tallied, Wednesday morning.
Marc Thiessen, a Fox News contributor and Washington Post columnist, analyzed the Republicans’ performance, but it sounded more like a death Knell. He called the night an “absolute disaster” for the GOP and decried the absence of the predicted red wave.
Sen. Lindsey Graham said in an NBC interview that Tuesday night was “not a Republican wave, that’s for darn sure.”
Former president Donald Trump, meanwhile, prematurely deflected blame earlier in the day.
“Well, I think if they win, I should get all the credit,” he said in a NewsNation interview. “And if they lose, I should not be blamed at all. But it will probably be just the opposite.”
That’s certainly a typical Trump statement.