GOP midterm momentum real -- and growing still

Republicans are building momentum in their battle to win the House, while an uneven political landscape in the final days before the midterm elections is creating uncertainty about the extent of the party’s gains—and the GOP’s prospects for winning control of the Senate.

Republicans have long been favored to win the House majority, given that the party out of power historically gains seats at the halfway point of a new president’s first term and President Biden’s approval ratings have been stuck below 45% for more than a year amid persistent worries about the economy. This past week, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report increased the number of seats it expects Republicans to gain in the next Congress to between 12 to 25, up from an earlier estimate of 10 to 20 seats.

Cook analyst Dave Wasserman said Democratic House candidates are in genuine danger in blue states such as Oregon, New York, California, Connecticut and even Rhode Island, where Republicans have effectively channeled voter dissatisfaction with Democrats’ handling of crime and inflation.