The party of the president has traditionally endured significant losses in midterm elections. Since 1946, the only time the party controlling the White House gained seats was in 2002, when Republicans added eight representatives under President George W. Bush.
If that trend continues following Tuesday’s election, current House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will become the next speaker of the House, taking the gavel from Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and President Joe Biden’s party.
“The Democrats are governed so badly,” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told Straight Arrow News. He added that Republicans are smart to focus on crime and inflation this election cycle.
“You look at people who go shopping for food, people who go fill up their tank with gasoline, people who watch the evening news and see all the crime…all these things come together and then you have the issue of radicalism in schools,” he continued.
Gingrich added that, if all goes well for his party, Republicans will pick up 20-50 seats in the House election. Meanwhile, he expects his party to take two to five seats in the Senate.
“Washington is a very tough state for Republicans,” Gingrich said. “Right now, I think they’re ahead, and they are going to keep all the Republican seats including Pennsylvania. But I think that probably the fifth seat is Washington state with Tiffany Smiley.”
Many Democratic candidates held healthy leads in polling at the end of the summer. But in the final weeks of campaigning, Republicans have been able to close that gap. Gingrich said the conservative momentum proves Americans want change.
“In the off-year elections, whether it’s the first term or the second term, are an opportunity for the American people to express themselves,” he continued. “And the people who are unhappy, have a much higher pressure to go vote to the people who are happy.”