Even though it’s still 2021, the battle for control of the House and Senate in the 2022-midterm elections is already well underway. Democrats hope to hold onto slim majorities in both the House and Senate, while Republicans feel they have the momentum to win back both.
In 2022, Republicans are specifically targeting 57 vulnerable Democrat House and Senate seats. While former President Donald Trump won’t be on the ballot, he’s making it clear he will very much be a part of these races.
“Now for the next 16 months we must pour every ounce of our energy into winning a historic victory in the midterms,” said Trump at CPAC last weekend.
In his speech, Trump took credit for expanding the GOP’s base and said he believes his supporters will help Republicans win big in the midterms.
“We will lead the conservative movement and the Republican Party back to victory and it will be the greatest victory that this party has ever had,” continued Trump.
RNC spokesperson Paris Dennard told CBN News that Trump will definitely play a role in campaigning for Republicans in 2022.
“When it comes to electing Republican candidates, his voice will be important,” said Dennard.
Dennard also believes the key for Republicans will be recruiting diverse candidates.
“Look at the last election, we had over a dozen seats that we flipped from Democrat to Republican,” explained Dennard. “Those seats were won by either a Republican woman, a Republican veteran, or a Republican minority.”
When asked if the RNC will support outspoken Trump critics like Representatives Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Dennard said he’d let their constituents decide.
“If they’re out of touch or out of step with where the Republican constituents are, they’ll be voted out of office,” claimed Dennard.
And he argued that the GOP needs to remain united and focused on the broader goal.
“We have to be focused on making sure that the Democrats are held accountable,” said Dennard. “Republicans need not have this party infighting and this palace intrigue that the media just sieves off of. It does us no good.”
Republicans need to gain just a single seat in the Senate and five seats in the House to win the majority with the main battleground states being Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Nevada.
Inside Elections’ Nathan Gonzales told CBN News’ Faith Nation it’s too early to tell which party has the advantage.
“We’re talking about such narrow majorities,” said Gonzales. “I’m not sure we’re ever going to have a clear idea about who has a firm control because the majority is so narrow and in the House, we’re in a holding pattern because of the redistricting cycle and the states have not yet finalized their new Congressional map so we don’t know what the districts look like.”
Unless Democrats hold the House and substantially expand their Senate majority, it’s unclear if President Biden will be able to accomplish much of his agenda without working with Republicans.
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