House Democrats, expecting to increase their majority, get shocked by Election Day losses



While the presidential election hangs in the balance Wednesday morning with outstanding votes to be counted in six states and no clear winner, House Democrats received an Election Day shock, losing at least six seats and potentially more as the votes continue to be counted.

Projections that Democrats would win a dozen seats in the House of Representatives and oust several Republican incumbents proved "completely wrong," Politico's Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer wrote in their morning newsletter Wednesday.

Both Democrats and Republicans expected the Democratic House majority to expand — it didn't. Republicans won upset victories over several Democratic incumbents and now could gain as much as 10 seats in a year the media raised the possibility they'd lose as many as 15 or more.

Democrats will retain majority control in the House, but that majority will be smaller as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) must grapple with some stinging defeats.

"We have held the House and now, when — after all the votes are counted, we'll see how much better we will do than that," Pelosi said in a statement. "We are in a situation where some of the states have just said we're not counting any more until tomorrow morning and, of course, the West Coast has not chimed in yet, so there's more to come."

In Florida, Republicans picked off Democratic incumbents Reps. Donna Shalala and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. Shalala lost her race narrowly in the state's 27th Congressional District in a rematch with Maria Elvira Salazar, a former television journalist.

In another rematch in New Mexico, Republican Yvette Herrell unseated Rep. Xochitl Torres (D-N.M.) in a contested race where energy policy was a major issue of the campaign. Herrell campaigned strongly on pro-oil and natural gas policies while her Democratic opponent struggled to distance herself from comments made by Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden opposing fracking and promising to "transition from the oil industry."

In South Carolina, freshman Democratic Rep. Joe Cunningham lost his race to a Republican challenger, reclaiming the 1st Congressional District for the GOP.

In a major upset, 30-year incumbent Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, lost re-election to Republican Michelle Fischbach by a double-digit margin, 53.6% to 39.8%. Peterson, 76, represented a rural part of Minnesota and over his career had a relatively moderate voting record, supporting gun rights and opposing President Donald Trump's impeachment. President Trump carried his district in Minnesota Tuesday night.

Additionally, Democratic Reps. Max Rose (N.Y.) of Staten Island and Kendra Horn (Okla.) of Oklahoma City lost their bids for re-election. Rose refused to concede to Republican Nicole Malliotakis despite trailing her by 38,000 votes.

"At this moment there are more than 40,000 absentee ballots that were returned, with potentially 10,000 more in the mail," Rose said Tuesday night.

House Republican Minority leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) celebrated the victories in a statement given to Politico.

"We defied the odds. It's the night of the Republican women," he said. "The Democrats never solved one problem in their majority. They promised they would govern differently, and they didn't."

Democrats were hopeful that a collapse in support for Trump in suburban areas of the country would translate to congressional victories in districts held by the GOP. They had targeted 10 seats held by Republicans in Texas as potential pick ups. As of this writing, it appears they will flip none of them.

The DNC did flip two Republican-held seats, both in North Carolina. Democrat Kathy Manning defeated Rep. Lee Haywood (R-N.C.) in the newly redrawn 6th Congressional District. Democrat Deborah Ross ousted Rep. Alan Swain (R-N.C.) in North Carolina's 2nd Congressional District.

According to Politico, Democratic strategists say that as outstanding mail-in votes are counted, remaining races where Republicans seem to be leading strongly will tighten. But if Republicans hang on to their leads, they may pick up as many as 10 seats.

Madison Cawthorn wins, becoming youngest member of Congress



Republican candidate for Congress Madison Cawthorn is projected to win election to the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday to fill the seat vacated by White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, The Hill reported.

The Associated Press called the race for 25-year-old Cawthorn at 9:20 p.m.

Cawthorn will become the youngest member of Congress when he takes office in January. He will represent North Carolina's 11th Congressional District, a reliably conservative district in the western part of the state.

Paralyzed from the waist down in a 2014 car accident, Cawthorn's inspiring story of overcoming adversity made him an instant star in the GOP when he defeated a candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump in the June Republican congressional primary. His general election campaign pointedly criticized the Republican Party, accusing establishment Republicans of being "timid" on the issues.

"I definitely am running against the Republican Party," he told Politico in an interview last week. "They're a party that doesn't try to tackle real issues. They are a party that always says no to things."

He elaborated on his belief that "career politicians" in the Republican Party "have failed us" in an op-ed penned for the Daily Wire.

"Let us rise as a New Republican Party. A party that offers real solutions and attacks ideas rather than individuals. A party that meets voters where they are, and instead of belittling them for what they care about, offers a better way," Cawthorn wrote.

Democrats viciously attacked Cawthorn for holding supposed white supremacist beliefs after 2017 photos posted to Instagram surfaced showing him visiting a German country home used by Adolf HItler and Nazi officials known as the "Eagle's Nest."

"The vacation house of the Führer. Seeing the Eagles Nest has been on my bucket list for awhile, it did not disappoint. Strange to hear so many laughs and share such a good time with my brother where only 79 years ago a supreme evil shared laughs and good times with his compatriots," Cawthorn wrote in the photo's caption.

Cawthorn's Democratic opponent, retired Air Force Col. Moe Davis, tweeted, "Hitler's vacation retreat is not on my bucket list."

Cawthorn dismissed the controversy over his post, explaining that his photo was taken in the same spirit as U.S. military forces who took photos at the same place in celebrating their defeat of evil Nazi forces.

"When our soldiers were photographed at the Eagle's Nest in 1945 they were clearly celebrating the Allies triumph over one of the greatest evils in human history. They weren't celebrating evil; they were celebrating their victory over evil," Cawthorn said in August.

At 9:24 p.m. after the election was called, Cawthorn celebrated his victory with a tweet.

Cry more, lib.
— Madison Cawthorn (@Madison Cawthorn)1604456664.0

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Republicans sweep House special elections in North Carolina

The following is an excerpt from Blaze Media’s daily Capitol Hill Brief email newsletter:

Democratic hopes to flip a couple GOP-controlled House seats in two North Carolina special elections were dashed last night, as both contests went to the Republican candidates.

In the more hotly contested race in the state’s 9th District, Dan Bishop pulled off a narrow win against Democratic challenger Dan McCready. A special election for the seat was ordered after the 2018 results were thrown out over election fraud concerns. The race attracted national attention and several million dollars in spending.

On Twitter, President Donald Trump said that he helped change Bishop’s strategy when the candidate was lagging in the polls weeks ago and mocked CNN and MSNBC, who he said “were all set to have a big victory” until the race was called. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairwoman Cheri Bustos also acknowledged Trump’s role in Bishop’s win.

The less contested 3rd District House race, called due to the death of Republican Rep. Walter Jones in February, went to state legislator Greg Murphy, whom Trump also congratulated.

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