Kevin McCarthy Predicts Big Republican Win in Midterm Election, Says He'll Be House Speaker in January

Kevin McCarthy, the House Minority Leader, forecasts a strong Republican victory in November and another triumph in January, when he believes the ruling party will pick him as House speaker by a majority.

In an interview with The Washington Times, McCarthy expressed confidence that Republicans will earn the net gain of more than five seats required to unseat Democrat Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House in November.

"We will win the majority. I believe I will be a speaker," McCarthy claims.

Republicans Lay Out "Possible Solutions" to US Issues

He wouldn't say how many seats the House Republicans will gain in November, but some in his leadership team believe it might be as many as 70. McCarthy met with House Republicans at a golf club in Florida this week to start discussing a legislative program that they would implement if they reclaim the majority.

McCarthy, who represents a Southern California district that includes Bakersfield, looks to be on his way to becoming the next Speaker of the House. Despite differences over his treatment of a few party members classified as "extremists," the five-term politician maintains widespread backing from the House Republican Conference.

According to Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, chairman of the House Republicans' campaign arm, Republicans might pick up as many as 70 seats. Analysts are more cautious, but believe Republicans will win dozens of House seats, aided by the fact that 23 Democrats have indicated they would not seek re-election.

McCarthy claimed Republicans are working on "narrow solutions" to key challenges like inflation, American energy independence, crime, and protecting the southern border during an interview with Fox News on the margins of the House Republican Issues Conference.

He said the conference, which runs from Wednesday to Friday in Ponte Vedra, Fla., is where Republican members of Congress will lay out their "commitment to America" ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, so that the public "understands exactly what we'll do if we're fortunate enough to gain the majority." McCarthy also told Fox News that if Republicans win the House of Representatives majority in November, they will hold this administration responsible.

Midterm Election Strategy Divides Democrats

For the midterm election, Democrats are mulling over five different strategies. The first is simple: Democrats should run on their achievements. More importantly, Americans have already formed opinions about Biden and the Democratic Congress: they disapprove of their actions. The president's popularity ratings have plummeted, both overall and on a number of key topics that Americans worry about, such as inflation, crime, immigration, and the country's direction.

Biden does his party no favors by blaming Vladimir Putin for concerns like rising gas and food costs. Voters are aware that energy and food prices have been growing for over a year, despite the president's dismissal of inflation as a passing fad.

Another method is being pursued by some centrist Democrats. They're praising collaboration, resisting attempts to defund the police, voicing worries about the inflationary consequences of increased expenditure, separating themselves from their party's woke left, and advocating for the repeal of mask requirements. Many of these vulnerable Democrats remained away from the Philadelphia retreat because they were a minority in their caucus.

It's possible that the every-centrist-for-himself strategy is the best they can accomplish. Democrats will still lose, but they may be able to limit their losses and prevent their party from being even more controlled by the awakened left, as per Wall Street Journal.