Posted on 02/18/2018 1:41:19 PM PST by Kaslin
A new interview with Mitch McConnell this week showed the first cracks in the wall of his optimism about the midterms. While not going down a path of gloom and doom, he no longer sounds positive of breaking a long-standing trend of the party in power losing ground in such scenarios. He’s not coming out and saying the GOP’s majorities in both chambers are toast, but he seems to think they’ll be losing seats. (The Hill)
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) says in a new interview that he expects to see GOP majorities in the House and Senate shrink in November as a result of the 2018 midterms.
The top Republican in the Senate told The New York Times that “the odds are” his party will face net losses in both chambers of Congress this year, the first time McConnell has made such an admission publicly.“The odds are that we will lose seats in the House and the Senate,” McConnell said.
“History tells you that, the fired-up nature of the political left tells you that. We go into this cleareyed that this is going to be quite a challenging election,” he added.
McConnell looks like he’s zigging when everyone else zags. It seemed like everyone was predicting that the Democrats would at least take the Senate back before Christmas, but Mitch was all sunshine and roses. Now that Trump’s numbers have begun to creep back up and some GOP strategists have a bit more spring in their step, McConnell is lowering expectations.
The biggest question is the Senate, of course, and you’d expect the Majority Leader to be more in tune with that. But how many seats are going to flip and which way will they go? The Democrats need at least a net pickup of two now that the Alabama mess is settled. Granted, we’re probably going to lose Nevada because Dean Heller is in a deep hole right now, being attacked from both sides. The #RESIST movement there is strong and Hillary carried the state easily. It looked like we were going to lose Arizona with Flake’s retirement, but if the primary electorate there can settle down and nominate Martha McSally, we could be in good shape. (Nominating Joe Arpaio, on the other hand, would likely turn into Roy Moore Phase Two.)
But let’s say the Dems take Arizona. There’s your flip, right? Not so fast. That means they still have to hang on to all of the more than two dozen of their own they’re defending. And those include:
Granted, they’ll probably keep some of them. But all of them? Particularly looking at McCaskill, Donnelly and Manchin, I’m thinking it’s going to have to be a tsunami and not just a “wave” to go three for three there. As usual, we should remind ourselves that it’s still ridiculously early in the year to pretend that anything is set in stone, and one turn of the news cycle can change any number of things. But as it stands right now, particularly if Trump can somehow keep his nose above water in the mid-forties, it looks like the Democrats have a massive amount of work ahead of them. All the GOP really needs to do at this point is avoid being stupid.
Okay… I didn’t say was a sure thing.
GRRRRR!!!!!
):^(
Mitch has always prefered being in the Minority. Much less responsibility.
We certainly have a few pearl-clutchers on FR trying to ensure that (not directed at you).
Only a loser beta male would say this. Oh look....it’s Mitch McConnell. That explains it.
Leader of losers
I think Mitch is admitting that there's nothing he can do, or will do, to stop it.....
Stupid.
There is no math that creates any equation for us to have a net loss in the senate.
Are Republicans doing anything to support their candidates? No. Just sitting on their ars and looking stupid.
Republicans might gain Senate seats in PA, OH, IN, WI, MT, and/or FL. I think that Republicans will gain three seats in the Senate and six seats in the House.
The man is completely bought and paid for and off by the Deep Stare. What a disgrace he is!
That’s why the liberal media is so hate-obsessed against the President. As we all know, they’re trying to influence the mushy brains out there for the mid-terms.
All the MSM does is hate, lie, twist, hate, hate and more hate.
I DO see that some Democrats are getting sick of it.
Some percentage of it is backfiring on them. I don’t know how much — but it’s so over-the-top, only the most brain-dead liberal can still be on board. Oh and there’s more than a couple of them, admittedly.
You mean the Senate. He’s majority leader
Mitch the Bitch is as much a Republican as is Bernie Sanders. He is likely rooting for Democrats, so his friend Schmuckie Chuckie can take over. I hate the Turtle so much.
Maybe, he’s developed some Trump gung-fu. Odd statement at that.
Very true and all that they are going to accomplish is get far lefties killed.
Senator Majority Leader McMugwump needs to get a real job and quit phoneying it in DC. Maybe he can be a coal tester or coal stoker.
The RINO give up seats.
The Dems hold about ten Senate seats up for election in red states. In a sane (and courageous) world we should be looking at getting a filibuster-proof majority in November. Instead, future minirity leader McTurtle just wants to pull his head into his shell and hide. The Gutless Old Party is worthless.
Dont be so sure Mitch..as long as the left keeps pushing taking away our 2nd Amendment rights the GOP will keep BOTH houses
Odds are Hillary will win ...
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