Battle for the House Tests Trump, GOP Hold on Congress
Midterm elections are typically difficult for the party in power, and
As drew near, Democrats were increasingly confident, predicting they would pick up at least the 23 seats needed for the majority on the strength of voter enthusiasm, robust fundraising and unusually fresh candidates.
More women than ever were running, along with military veterans and minorities, many of them motivated by Trump’s rise. Yet Democrats tempered expectations for a “blue wave,” characterizing the fight for power as a block-by-block slog.
“The drumbeat you hear across America is people voting,” Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said as polls opened Tuesday. Individual races “will be close,” she said, but because of the “quality of our candidates” and emphasis on preserving health care, “I feel confident we will win.”
The outcome has serious stakes for the president. A Democratic majority in the House would almost certainly bring an onslaught of investigations into Trump’s businesses and his administration. Yet a Democratic House could also give Trump a rare chance for bipartisan deal-making as he gears up for re-election.
To stem Republican losses, Trump sprinted through mostly white regions of the country, interjecting dark and foreboding warnings about what Democratic power would mean for the nation.
Instead of trumpeting the
GOP Whip Steve Scalise said the president’s rallies were building momentum and with the economy a selling point, he predicted his party would retain a slim majority.
“In the end, we hold the House because of the strong economy,” the
For Democrats, the road to the 218-seat majority ran through two dozen suburban districts Hillary Clinton won in 2016 and through swaths of Trump country in the Rust Belt and heartland where voters backed the president. It was a deliberate strategy to expand the playing field to about 80 districts, stretching beyond college-educated voters in the suburbs into regions where the party has seen its fortunes fade.
How women and independent voters cast their ballots was likely to determine the outcome. Hundreds of millions were spent by the parties, supplemented by more money from outside groups, to frame the debate. Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who advocates gun control, poured millions into House races for Democrats, offsetting the big-dollar spending to save Republicans by the Congressional Leadership Fund, which is aligned with House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Republicans still had advantages in some areas, giving them hope of retaining a slim majority. Trump had been tweeting support for specific
But anti-incumbent fervor helped sweep House Democrats out of power in 2010, during President Barack Obama’s first term, and it threatened to hurt Republicans this year, dramatically remaking the map in key states from
Several districts on the
Rep. Barbara Comstock in the
Outside
Republicans were also being challenged outside
In a suburban battleground in
Many of the Democratic candidates have military backgrounds and emerged as formidable challengers, particularly in red-state districts where Republicans have dominated. In another early race to watch, retired Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath took on three-term Rep. Andy Barr in the
The
In
Republicans had expected the
The tax law has been particularly problematic for Republicans in
The committee also distanced itself from eight-term Rep. Steve King of
The fight for control of the House could come down to a handful of seats out West, particularly in
Four
“We always knew these races are going to be close,” said Rep. Katherine Clark of
For AP’s complete coverage of the