Politics
McCarthy says GOP squandered House majority and expects Democrats to win in November
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy predicts Democrats will take control of the House in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, blaming Republicans for failing to make a clear case for keeping power. He pointed to canceled session days and the party’s weak grip on its narrow majority.
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Thursday he expects Democrats to win control of the House in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, arguing that Republicans have squandered their narrow majority by failing to show voters what they would do with another term in power.
“In the last 100 years, all off-year elections, whoever is the party in power, has the White House, has lost seats,” McCarthy said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. He predicted Democrats would win a majority, though he said he was unsure how large it would be.
McCarthy, a Republican who helped his party win the House in 2022, criticized Speaker Mike Johnson and other GOP leaders for canceling scheduled session days amid internal disputes. The reduced legislative calendar, he said, has left Republicans without a persuasive record or agenda to present to voters.
“You have to give a reason why to win,” McCarthy said. “What are the three things Republicans will do if they win the majority? I can’t tell you what that is.”
He framed the likely outcome as a Republican failure rather than a Democratic victory. “It’s not that the Democrats are going to win this election,” he said. “Republicans are going to lose it.”
McCarthy’s forecast comes as Republicans try to defend a razor-thin House majority. His comments also reflect the difficulty party leaders face in keeping a narrow, divided conference on a regular legislative schedule in the closing weeks of a campaign.
The former speaker, who led House Republicans for less than a year before members removed him from the post, also cautioned that Democrats have not offered a popular or clearly defined agenda of their own. If they take control, he said, they will face challenges governing the next Congress.