Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich asked Fox News host Laura Ingraham and her audience "why they would believe" any of the pundits currently predicting doom for Republicans in the fall midterms. After all, these are the same people who were wrong about Donald Trump in both the 2016 presidential primary and general election. He proved them all wrong.
Those same analysts are now predicting Republicans will lose the Senate this November, but Gingrich believes it will be a much sunnier result for the GOP than that.
.@NewtGingrich: "I think that the Republicans are likely to gain 4-6 seats in the Senate." @IngrahamAngle pic.twitter.com/7ITmiQNHWn
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 23, 2018
"All the political analyst establishment and the talking heads have a bias," Gingrich said. "If Republicans are anywhere near to even on the generic [ballot], they could gain seats."
A handful of Democratic senators are vulnerable heading into the midterms. Sens. Joe Manchin (WV), Claire McCaskill (MO), Joe Donnelly (IN), Joe Tester (MT), and Heidi Heitkamp (ND) are all fighting for their seats in states that Trump won by "a lot" (his words) in 2016.
Republicans were pleasantly surprised by a new Reuters poll Tuesday that pushed the momentum in their party's favor. They're now in the lead. The Cook Political Report had the pendulum swinging in the same direction.
BREAKING: For the first time in a long while, Cook Political Report moves 4 races -- all in the GOP's direction. All about problematic primaries for Dems. https://t.co/FWJPPTrtkF
— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) May 22, 2018
Yet, one detail stands to temper Republican optimism: The initiative to run to the polls is clearly on the Democrats' side. A new NBC News/WSJ poll showed that 66 percent of Democrats have a "high level of interest" in the midterm elections, compared to just 49 percent of Republicans.
Still, in his address at the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List Gala Tuesday night, President Trump said Republicans will have plenty to brag about in their midterm campaigns. GOP incumbents and challengers should promote the benefits of tax reform (and new tax cuts to come) and watch the votes pour in, he suggested. Like Gingrich, Trump predicted a "big, beautiful surprise" for the GOP come November.
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