By Islam El-Sakka
Former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel warned that the GOP faces an unexpectedly difficult midterm election map and predicted Democrats will win control of the House of Representatives in November.
McDaniel criticizes GOP spending in safe states
In a CBS News interview Tuesday, one week before Election Day, McDaniel said the party should not be spending hundreds of millions of dollars to defend Senate candidates in traditionally Republican strongholds. “We shouldn’t be spending $200 million or $300 million in Texas to defend a Senate candidate,” she said, noting that the GOP has poured upwards of $230 million into the Texas race alone, according to AdImpact.
Trump campaigns in Republican strongholds
President Donald Trump has recently campaigned in states such as Texas, Kansas, South Carolina and Mississippi — areas normally considered safe for Republicans. In Texas, Senator Ken Paxton faces a tight challenge from Democrat James Talarico. In Kansas, Senator Roger Marshall is in a competitive race against Democrat Adam Hamilton. McDaniel said the president’s travel to those states indicates internal data showing vulnerability.
House predicted to flip, Senate seen as competitive
McDaniel expects Democrats to pick up the three seats needed to take the House, though she said redistricting efforts earlier in Trump’s term make a large wave unlikely. She added that Republicans could retain the Senate but acknowledged a tough environment. Historically, the president’s party loses congressional seats in midterms, with the scale varying from 2022, when Republicans narrowly won the House, to 2006, when Republicans lost both chambers after the Iraq war.
