The chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee warned vulnerable Democrats — already reeling from a disastrous showing by their party’s candidates in Tuesday’s elections — that they have two options: “Resign or lose.”
“Vulnerable House Democrats have a choice to make over Thanksgiving,” Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), chairman of the NRCC, told the Washington Post. “Retire or lose. It’s as simple as that.”
Historically, the president’s party fares poorly in midterm elections.
But the stunning win by Republican Glenn Youngkin over Terry McAuliffe in Virginia’s gubernatorial race and Gov. Phil Murphy’s surprise nail-biter in New Jersey amid a strong showing by Republican Jack Ciattarelli have Democrats on their heels, fearing they’ll lose their majorities in the House and Senate next year.
Just a year ago, President Biden won Virginia by 10 percentage points and New Jersey by 16 percentage points.
Emmer and other Republicans are putting an exclamation point on Democrats’ concerns over a “red wave” washing over the country next year.
Spurred on by strong turnout in the Virginia suburbs for Youngkin, Republicans are targeting Democrats in suburban Philadelphia, Phoenix, Washington and Chicago.
The NRCC said it would set its sights on 70 incumbent Democratic seats in the 2022 midterms that would give Republicans a majority and oust Rep. Nancy Pelosi as House speaker.
“It’ll be more than 70 Democrats that will be competitive. There’s many that are going to lose their race based upon walking off the cliff and Nancy Pelosi pushing them,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday.
Democrats have control of the House by virtue of eight seats, while the Senate is split 50-50.
Republicans smell blood in the water and believe 2022 will be a repeat of 2009, when, a year after President Barack Obama was elected, Democrats lost 63 seats in the House and six in the Senate.
“This is 2009 all over again,” Democratic former Rep. Steve Israel of New York told Politico.
“The only benefit they have now over 2009 is knowing just how bad it can get,” Israel said.
“If Democrats can’t reclaim those suburban voters, I don’t see a path to keeping the majority, plain and simple, and you reclaim them by talking about those issues that those voters are discussing at their kitchen table,” he said.