House Republicans are celebrating their likely majority in the House of Representatives after the midterm elections, but some lawmakers tell Fox News Digital they are still confused about why that there was not a “red wave” on Election Night as expected.
Although Republicans are set to become the party in charge in the House once they clear the 218 seat threshold, their anticipated majority will be much smaller than expected after the GOP struggled to win tossup races across the nation. Election results for a handful of House seats are still pending, and Republicans still need one more seat to officially gain a majority.
Rep. Rick Allen, R.-Ga., told Fox News Digital during the House GOP candidate forum Monday evening that he was unsure why so many Americans voted for Democrats when a clear consensus preferred Republicans on key issues such as the economy.
MCCARTHY WINS GOP NOMINATION FOR HOUSE SPEAKER
“I think we were all surprised,” Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., told Fox News Digital. “We were seeing numbers like 20% of people preferring the Republican Party over the Democratic Party. But for whatever reason, that didn’t show up at the ballot box.”
“As a Republican, we certainly would have liked to have more,” Rep. Jim Baird, R-Ind., told Fox News Digital. “So we’ll look at how we came out and how it worked and go from there.”
FOX NEWS MIDTERM ELECTIONS RESULTS
Other members emphasized the importance of gaining subpoena power with the majority.
“We won. I’m happy. 218 is the magic number,” said Rep. James Comer, R-Ky. “For me, being the hopefully next chairman of the House Oversight Committee, 218 gives me the tools I need to conduct meaningful oversight.”
“We have the gavel, we have subpoena power to hold this administration accountable. So I’m excited – I’m pumped,” Rep. Mike Green, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital.
“I’m very pleased with the seats we won,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C. “We should be very celebratory.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was re-elected leader of the Republicans Tuesday, despite 31 members who voted for Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.
With a slim majority, Republicans need a near consensus for a leader prior to the new Congress. Republican Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., was elected unopposed to serve as House majority leader, the number two position.
