National Red Wave Fails to Materialize

National Republicans had their hopes of a ‘Red Wave’ in Congress dashed as various Trump-backed candidates lost to Democrats. Democrats flipped a Republican senate seat in Pennsylvania and managed to hold two vulnerable seats in Arizona and Nevada. Georgia will be decided in a December 6th runoff, but Democrats will control the upper chamber regardless of the results.

The House of Representatives will likely switch to Republican control but with a much smaller margin than was previously expected. Final tallies in the remaining House races were imminent.

Why has it taken so long to report results for such a high number of House and Senate races?

INSTRUCTORS: click the link below to download this week’s lecture for use in your classroom. The deck contains a writing prompt and a debate question as well as other assessment questions.

Videos:

News Articles:

Democrats clinch Senate control following projected Nevada win

CBS News

11/12/22

https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/elections-2022-results-democrats-clinch-senate-control/

Democrats defy ‘red wave’ forecasts to keep Senate control, eye Georgia

Reuters

11/13/22

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/democrats-keep-control-us-senate-crush-republican-red-wave-hopes-2022-11-13/

Democrats retain control of the Senate after holding Nevada seat

NPR

11/13/22

https://www.npr.org/2022/11/12/1134623001/democrats-keep-us-senate-nevada-election

News Articles (Analysis):

Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell: Republican anger over midterms

BBC

11/13/22

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63618188

Did Trump hurt Republicans in the 2022 elections? The numbers point to yes.

NBC News

11/13/22

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/trump-hurt-republicans-2022-elections-numbers-point-yes-rcna56928

Kevin McCarthy faces rocky road to speakership as hardliners emboldened by GOP’s election showing

CNN

11/11/22

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/11/politics/kevin-mccarthy-speakership-race-house-freedom-caucus/index.html

The 5 circles of chaos after 2022 midterms

Axios

11/12/22

https://www.axios.com/2022/11/12/democrats-gop-uncertain-2022-midterms-chaos

Assessment:

Writing: Explain why many Republicans feel they cannot fully detach themselves from former President Trump. Why do many critics say that Trump cost the Republicans seats in the Congress if he was not on the ballot?

Debate: Is it truly possible to decipher any messages that voters sent after a midterm election or is the electorate too diverse to reach any wholesale conclusions?

Poll: Do you believe that candidate quality made a difference in the midterm election?

Short Answer: Why do presidents and their party do so poorly in midterm elections?

QUIZ:

When did Nancy Pelosi say she would decide about whether to remain in leadership?

1. after the new year
2. after control of the House of Representatives was decided
3. after the 2024 election
4. after the 2026 midterm elections

Which candidate presided over a ‘Red Wave’ in their state and is seen as a potential frontrunner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary?

1. Joe Lombardo
2. Mike DeWine
3. Ron DeSantis
4. Kim Reynolds

Which Trump-aligned candidate was locked in a close race despite representing a Republican district?

1. Marjorie Taylor Greene
2. Lauren Boebert
3. Jim Jordan
4. Matt Gaetz

President Biden is the only president to not lose control of the Senate in a midterm election. (T/F)

Pennsylvania Republicans were hurt by weak candidates at the top of the ticket. (T/F)

Republicans are ultimately expected to gain about 6-8 seats in the U.S. House. (T/F)