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.
Subscribe to 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.
-
Judge: Trump's US attorney in NJ serving unlawfullySpeed Read The appointment of Trump's former personal defense lawyer, Alina Habba, as acting US attorney in New Jersey was ruled 'unlawful'
-
Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records requestSpeed Read Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material
-
Texas OKs gerrymander sought by TrumpSpeed Read The House approved a new congressional map aimed at flipping Democratic-held seats to Republican control
-
Israel starts Gaza assault, approves West Bank planSpeed Read Israel forces pushed into the outskirts of Gaza City and Netanyahu's government gave approval for a settlement to cut the occupied Palestinian territory in two
-
Court says labor board's structure unconstitutionalSpeed Read The ruling has broad implications for labor rights enforcement in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi
-
Feds seek harsh charges in DC arrests, except for riflesSpeed Read The DOJ said 465 arrests had been made in D.C. since Trump federalized law enforcement there two weeks ago
-
Trump taps Missouri AG to help lead FBISpeed Read Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been appointed FBI co-deputy director, alongside Dan Bongino
-
Trump warms to Kyiv security deal in summitSpeed Read Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Trump's support for guaranteeing his country's security 'a major step forward'
