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Mike Johnson Says He Expects GOP To Pick Up 7 Or 8 Seats In Midterms
House Speaker Mike Johnson said he expects the Republican Party will pick up seven or eight seats in the midterm elections thanks to redistricting fights in multiple states.
“That’s obviously a good thing for the outcome of the election, and that gives us an even greater chance to win the House,” he told Fox News host Brian Kilmeade. “I’m convinced we’re going to define history and keep the majority here so we can keep all of this going.”
Johnson acknowledged Kilmeade’s point that, historically, the opposition party to the incumbent leader will take control of the House or Senate in the midterms.
Aside from three instances, the sitting presidential party has lost seats in the House in every midterm election since Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s first term.
This midterm is different, Johnson said.
“It’s only happened a couple of times in the last 90 years — the sitting president picked up seats for his party,” he said. “It boils down to a couple things: We have a great record to run on. We’ve got better candidates in the field. We’re applying common sense.”
Johnson also cited President Donald Trump’s campaign involvement.
“We can’t lose the majority in the House because it would come crashing down around him,” he said.