House Republicans were headed to a second straight victory Tuesday, ensuring the GOP retains a legislative stronghold to push a conservative agenda of fiscal austerity regardless of who won the presidency.
After Democrats and Republicans spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to define — and defend — the “tea party Congress,” House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) was poised to emerge from Tuesday’s elections with limited losses and possible gains.
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Election 2012 race ratings: The race for House control
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By holding on to the House, Boehner ensures that his conservative caucus will be a key player in fiscal negotiations in the months ahead, probably renewing its legislative clash with Senate Democrats, who are favored to maintain control of the upper chamber.
Boehner vowed to continue the conservative track that House Republicans have taken the past two years, arguing that the expected results were a validation of their approach.
“Over the last two years, the Republicans in the House have listened to the American people and followed their will. But we’ve had no cooperation from the Senate and no cooperation from the White House,” Boehner said after casting his ballot in the southwestern Ohio district he has represented for 22 years.
Strategists in each party, as well as independent analysts, projected a similar result to the 242 to 193 margin that resulted from the 2010 midterm elections, with Democrats still hopeful to pick up a net gain of a handful of seats.
The expected Democratic defeat left in doubt the political future of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), who for months had publicly and privately predicted huge gains for Democrats and a possible recapture of the chamber’s majority. Pelosi allies have signaled that she is likely to remain in her leadership post should GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney win. But they have indicated that she may relinquish her leadership role if President Obama is reelected and Senate Democrats remain in charge.
House Democrats declared “the end of the tea party” in a memo before election returns began coming in Tuesday night. Their strategists pointed to the difficult reelection fights for several of the most outspoken conservatives in the House, including Reps. Michele Bachmann (Minn.), Joe Walsh (Ill.) and Allen West (Fla.) . Democrats also noted that many others who rode in on tea party support two years ago tried to reposition themselves as mainstream Republicans to face this year’s electorate.
“House Republican incumbents — and their candidates — are running as far away from the Tea Party as they can,” the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee declared in its memo.
The GOP performance defied early expectations that Republicans’ historic 2010 gains would be followed by steep losses this November — the historical pattern after large wave elections such as the 63-seat gain for Republicans two years ago.
Experts have noted that the Republican strategy after 2010 was to use the decennial process of redistricting to fortify as many of the 87 freshmen as possible for the 2012 races. Rather than trying to seek large gains, Boehner’s team worked with GOP-controlled state legislatures, which draw district maps, to shore up those freshmen in new districts.
After Democrats and Republicans spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to define — and defend — the “tea party Congress,” House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) was poised to emerge from Tuesday’s elections with limited losses and possible gains.
Graphic
Election 2012 race ratings: The race for House control
More from PostPolitics
Jon Cohen, Peyton M. Craighill, Scott Clement and Johnathon Hege The first wave of exit polls suggest a slightly more Republican electorate than 2008.
Aaron Blake THE FIX | These swing counties should tell us which way the race is trending as results pour in.
Aaron Blake and Chris Cillizza THE FIX | We break down all of the major races, hour by hour, so you know what to expect and when.
Your Election Day preview: See how all the major races across the country are unfolding.By holding on to the House, Boehner ensures that his conservative caucus will be a key player in fiscal negotiations in the months ahead, probably renewing its legislative clash with Senate Democrats, who are favored to maintain control of the upper chamber.
Boehner vowed to continue the conservative track that House Republicans have taken the past two years, arguing that the expected results were a validation of their approach.
“Over the last two years, the Republicans in the House have listened to the American people and followed their will. But we’ve had no cooperation from the Senate and no cooperation from the White House,” Boehner said after casting his ballot in the southwestern Ohio district he has represented for 22 years.
Strategists in each party, as well as independent analysts, projected a similar result to the 242 to 193 margin that resulted from the 2010 midterm elections, with Democrats still hopeful to pick up a net gain of a handful of seats.
The expected Democratic defeat left in doubt the political future of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), who for months had publicly and privately predicted huge gains for Democrats and a possible recapture of the chamber’s majority. Pelosi allies have signaled that she is likely to remain in her leadership post should GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney win. But they have indicated that she may relinquish her leadership role if President Obama is reelected and Senate Democrats remain in charge.
House Democrats declared “the end of the tea party” in a memo before election returns began coming in Tuesday night. Their strategists pointed to the difficult reelection fights for several of the most outspoken conservatives in the House, including Reps. Michele Bachmann (Minn.), Joe Walsh (Ill.) and Allen West (Fla.) . Democrats also noted that many others who rode in on tea party support two years ago tried to reposition themselves as mainstream Republicans to face this year’s electorate.
“House Republican incumbents — and their candidates — are running as far away from the Tea Party as they can,” the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee declared in its memo.
The GOP performance defied early expectations that Republicans’ historic 2010 gains would be followed by steep losses this November — the historical pattern after large wave elections such as the 63-seat gain for Republicans two years ago.
Experts have noted that the Republican strategy after 2010 was to use the decennial process of redistricting to fortify as many of the 87 freshmen as possible for the 2012 races. Rather than trying to seek large gains, Boehner’s team worked with GOP-controlled state legislatures, which draw district maps, to shore up those freshmen in new districts.