Not certain who you read/listen to, but from what I read, there was no expectation the Repub could win. The question was, “How much will the Repub lose by?” I think Trump lost the CD by 30 points, so the republicans were hoping for a moral victory of losing in the high single digits, which would mean energy/enthusiasm on the right and a boost to recruiting better candidates for next year. However, anything less than 30 points would be welcome.
The Pub lost by 24 points. He won all of Torrence County and slivers of northern Valencia and southern Santa Fe counties (likely Los Lunas and Edgewood, respectively). It appears he lost the part of Sandoval County immediately north of ABQ (Rio Rancho and Corrales).