The returning head of the House Republican campaign committee says President-elect Trump’s landslide 2024 White House victory gives the GOP a huge advantage at home as the party aims to protect its slim majority in the 2026 midterm elections.
“The battlefield is ready for us. There are 14 Democrats who won the seats also held by Donald Trump. There are only three Republicans in the seats held by Kamala Harris. So that tells me that we will be in a criminal position,” Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee Rep. Richard Hudson emphasized in a recent Fox News Digital interview.
Trump carried all seven key battleground states and, for the first time in three presidential elections, won the national popular vote as he defeated Vice President Harris last month.
VANCE COULD BE GOP PRESIDENT BEFORE 2028, BUT RNC CHAIRMAN STILL LIKES PARTY ‘BENCH’
President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP/Evan Vucci)
Republicans also wrested control of the Senate from Democrats, and even if they lose two seats in the 435-member House, they will hold a fragile 220-215 majority when the new Congress convenes next month.
Eight years ago, when Trump first won the White House and the GOP held on to its House majority, Democrats targeted nearly two dozen Republicans during the 2018 midterms in districts that Trump lost in the 2016 election.
The Democrats, in the blue-wave election, succeeded in changing the majority of the House.
Fast forward eight years, and it’s a different story, as this time Republicans will be defending seats in friendly territory in the states the president-elect holds.
“There’s a good chance we’re going to make a case,” said Hudson, who has represented a congressional district in central North Carolina for a dozen years.
SENATE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE CHAIR ACHIEVES HIS 2026 GOAL
Hudson also charged that House Republicans will be targeted by Democrats in the upcoming election cycle “really battle tested. I mean, by people who have been through the fire before. They’ve been through a lot of places. Now millions of dollars have been spent to fight them.”
“They were able to succeed because they work hard in their regions, they have established strong brands as you know, people who know how to do things and deliver for their community,” he stressed. “Republicans in tough seats are our best candidates.”
The three House Republicans from the districts Harris carried last month are Reps. Don Bacon from Nebraska, Brian Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania, and Mike Lawler from New York.
Now President-elect Donald Trump is greeting Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee. (Wina McNamee/Getty Images)
But there will be a big difference in 2026: Trump, who helped drive low-income voters to the polls this year, won’t be on the ballot in the 2026 midterms.
“I would rather have him in the election because there are some voters who don’t succeed,” Hudson admitted.
But he argued, “If you look at the way this race is shaping up, we campaigned on important things that we promised to accomplish. If we present those things and we have Donald Trump campaigning with candidates, I believe we can turn out a higher percentage of those voters than in the past.”
Hudson said Trump has been a “great partner” with House Republicans this year and will be again in the upcoming election cycle.
“[Trump] he cares more about having a majority in the House because he understands that a majority of Democrats in the House means that his agenda comes to the fore. So he’s been very engaged, he’s been a great partner in this last election, and I expect that to continue.”
Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, is interviewed by Fox News Digital on Dec. 11, 2024, Washington, DC. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Hudson, who is returning to his second consecutive term as NRCC chairman, said high on his committee’s to-do list are recruitment and fundraising.
CLICK FOR THE NEWS PROGRAM
“I mean, first of all, we have to go out and recruit candidates. You know, the quality of the candidates is important. And then we have to raise money. So I’ll be on the road and there to help those in power but I’m looking forward to it,” he stressed.
Fox News’ Emma Woodhead contributed to this report
Editor’s note: Fox News Digital also interviewed Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington. That report will be filed on Friday.
Source link
