Rep. Garcia to Newsmax: GOP Midterm Expectations Were 'Too High'
(Newsmax/"Prime News")
By Charles Kim | Wednesday, 09 November 2022 10:40 PM EST
Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., told Newsmax Wednesday that Republicans set their sights "too high" expecting a "red wave" in Tuesday's midterm elections, but should not lose sight of the fact they will likely take the majority in the House and possibly the Senate.
"I think we set expectations too high," the congressman told "Prime News" Wednesday. "There were folks talking about [Republicans winning] 30-40 seats. This is not realistic, but let's put things in perspective. Three years ago, we were down in the hole by a large margin in the House. In the last cycle in 2020, we clawed back, I think, 14 seats. This cycle we're going to claw back another 10 seats; and whatever we call that, we end up in the majority."
According to The New York Times, Garcia is currently leading his Democratic opponent Christy Smith 57.6% to 42.4% with 44% of the votes counted in his district.
The congressman told Newsmax the victories will allow the Republican majority to "save the country" by acting as a check on the White House and Democrats' "out-of-control spending."
"So while they're acting like they can put the cape on and it was a success last night for the Democrats and [President] Joe Biden, they're clearly losing," he said. "And the arc of history is going to be a brutal one in 2024 for them as well."
As of Wednesday night, Republicans have won 207 House seats and Democrats won 189 seats with 218 needed to claim the majority in that chamber, according to The Times.
The GOP also currently has 49 seats in the Senate compared to 48 for the Democrats with three states still outstanding and 51 seats needed to claim the majority in that chamber.
Garcia said that while some are blaming former President Donald Trump's activity in the races for the GOP not taking more seats, the real fault is with the candidates and how hard they work to get the message across to voters.
"I think [Trump is] the most popular figure [among Republicans]. I think he has the most influence in terms of not only the candidates, but voter turnout models," he said. "But in the end, I hold individual candidates accountable for their performance if they win. It's a product of their hard work, and, more importantly, if they lose, we need to figure out what they did wrong."
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