Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning, a smiling Mitch McConnell told reporters the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court gave Republicans the last minute push they needed to win on Election Day.
"It is indeed a good morning for Republicans," McConnell said.
.@senatemajldr holds a news conference following #Midterms2018 https://t.co/fdej3Nq0lD
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 7, 2018
Republicans locked down Senate wins in Indiana, North Dakota, Missouri and Florida last night. They ousted nearly every red state Democrat, with Joe Manchin surviving in West Virginia. Democrat Jon Tester's seat in Montana is still too close to call.
The factor consistent throughout these losses? Votes against Kavanaugh's confirmation.
So every Dem Senator in a competitive race who voted against Kavanaugh lost (Donnelly, Heitkamp, McCaskill, and almost certainly Nelson), and the one who voted for Kavanaugh survived (Manchin). Coincidence?
— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) November 7, 2018
When asked by reporters about Kavanaugh's impact, McConnell said the issue was an "adrenaline shot."
"We had a very good day," says @senatemajldr at Cap Hill news conference. Says he's proud of what happened in the midterm election. "The president was very helpful to us." Also says the Kavanaugh hearings were "like an Adrenalin shot" for GOP Senators. pic.twitter.com/2yWphHKX7n
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) November 7, 2018
During his remarks, McConnell acknowledged the Democrat takeover of the House and said he looks forward to working with Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
.@senatemajldr: "There are serious problems with ObamaCare, and I think we're going to have to obviously now try to address that on a bipartisan basis." pic.twitter.com/IjtYRxmtup
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 7, 2018