Although Hillary Clinton is currently favored to win the presidency tomorrow, and the races for the Senate remain tight, Republicans are still heavily favored to retain control of the House of Representatives. Indeed, Democrats might just end up right where they were after the 2012 election, right before they suffered additional losses in the 2014 midterm election.
The Cook Political Report writes that Democrats can expect only meager gains — with some tight races likely affected by the recent decision of FBI Director James Comey to announce that the bureau was still reviewing Hillary Clinton's emails, only to then clear her from facing charges this past weekend:
Democratic strategists express frustration that they were on the cusp of picking up more than 15 seats until the Comey letter helped bring straggling GOP voters "home" to Donald Trump. These voters' fresh motivation to oppose Hillary Clinton may rescue troubled suburban GOP seats like CA-10, CO-06, FL-26, KS-03, PA-08, and VA-10 — seats that could have easily fallen to Democrats if Clinton had run up a double digit margin. [The Cook Political Report]
If current "toss-up" races split down the middle, Democrats would only post a net gain of 10 seats, The Cook Political Report notes.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Likewise, University of Virginia political analyst Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball projects the Democrats picking up only 13 seats in the House, leaving the Republicans with an advantage of 234 seats to the Democrats' 201. That would be the exact same as the result of the 2012 House races.
-
Film reviews: ‘Marty Supreme’ and ‘Is This Thing On?’Feature A born grifter chases his table tennis dreams and a dad turns to stand-up to fight off heartbreak
-
Political cartoons for December 14Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include a new White House flag, Venezuela negotiations, and more
-
Heavenly spectacle in the wilds of CanadaThe Week Recommends ‘Mind-bending’ outpost for spotting animals – and the northern lights
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander pushSpeed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats
-
Democrat files to impeach RFK Jr.Speed Read Rep. Haley Stevens filed articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
-
$1M ‘Trump Gold Card’ goes live amid travel rule furorSpeed Read The new gold card visa offers an expedited path to citizenship in exchange for $1 million
-
US seizes oil tanker off VenezuelaSpeed Read The seizure was a significant escalation in the pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell recordsSpeed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
-
Miami elects first Democratic mayor in 28 yearsSpeed Read Eileen Higgins, Miami’s first woman mayor, focused on affordability and Trump’s immigration crackdown in her campaign
