Midterms: Senior Republicans privately concede House loss, focus on saving Senate

Some top congressional Republicans have privately concluded it is likely impossible to keep control of the House in the midterm elections, POLITICO reports.

Five senior Republican lawmakers, granted anonymity, told the outlet the party is now focused on limiting losses and saving its Senate majority. One said the goal was to “save as many Republican seats as we can,” adding: “President Trump has made this election all about himself.”

Another predicted Democrats would gain about 10 seats, saying even in newly redistricted Florida and Texas, Republican candidates were “hanging on with their fingernails.”

The party has pulled back from districts held by Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Tom Kean Jr., as well as Rep. Don Bacon’s seat. The Congressional Leadership Fund moved advertising money, allowing the Senate Leadership Fund to back Nebraska’s Pete Ricketts and Iowa’s Ashley Hinson.

Bacon blamed “the president’s polling numbers and unfavorables.”

The White House said Trump remained “committed to maintaining Republican majorities in both the House and Senate.”