Daniel Wolfram
The midterm elections goes from bad to worse for the Republican Party as Fox News also predicts a blue wave in one of the chambers.
Republicans face steep hurdles to keeping their House majority, according to a prediction from Fox News Power Rankings. Twenty congressional seats just swung from right to left.
That shift is fueled by strong statewide candidates and an enduring national polling edge.
Fox News is notorious for being on the far right of the political spectrum in US news reporting.
House in danger
Under the updated projections, Democrats lead in 219 districts while Republicans hold 198, leaving 18 toss-ups on the board. A clean sweep gives Democrats 237 seats.
Even if Republicans win most of the predicted toss-up elections, the forecast shows Democrats taking the Speaker’s gavel with at least 218 seats.
A paper-thin majority would leave party leaders scrambling to manage internal divisions.
Rural voters turn their backs on Republicans
The biggest trouble for the GOP is actually coming from outside metropolitan areas where Republicans usually fare well. Small county towns usually lean heavily conservative, but rural voters are increasingly frustrated by persistent spikes in gas, diesel, and grocery bills as well as the looming data centers that Republicans threaten to build.
In New York’s rural 21st District, where Donald Trump ran up a 21-point win two years ago, a Democratic challenger now leads by four points.
Likewise, in Maine’s rural 2nd District, an open seat carried by Trump three times running, polling gives the Democrat a six-point lead.
In southern Virginia, another seat that used to be safe for Republicans is now a six-point nail-biter, Fox News reported.
Down to the wire
The battle for the Senate remains far tighter. Democrats still have different ways they can achieve a 51-seat majority, but the Republican route to reach 50 seats is also within reach, which would give them a slim majority as the Vice President would be the tiebreaker.
However, there are still major concerns within the GOP Senate groups, since private donors have poured massive funds into seats in states that used to be deep red.
And even though Republican candidates have managed to get $377 million in donations, according to CNBC, they are still in grave danger of losing both chambers as the GOP-friendly Fox News predicts.
With Election Day looming, the House is getting away from Republicans while the Senate is looking like a genuine toss-up.
