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Republicans won a second U.S. House seat in Arizona on Monday night after a former aide to Republican Gov. Doug Ducey won the race to replace retiring GOP Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick.
“Republican Juan Ciscomani beat Democrat Kirsten Engel in the open 6th Congressional District seat now held by Kirkpatrick. Ciscomani is a former senior adviser to Ducey who has strong ties to the business community. He touted his background as an immigrant who became a U.S. citizen after his family came to Arizona from Mexico when he was a boy,” the Associated Press reported.
“An incumbent Republican who had been trailing until Sunday, Rep. David Schweikert, also won his race Monday. Schweikert defeated Democrat Jevin Hodge to gain a seventh term representing the northeast Phoenix suburbs’ 1st District. Schweikert survived a second straight election where he was dogged by ethics issues, following violations of campaign finance rules and laws barring the use of congressional staff for campaign work. Hodge was seen as a rising star in Democratic politics but was hampered by the slight Republican registration advantage in the wealthy 1st Congressional District that covers parts of northeast Phoenix, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, and Fountain Hills,” the outlet added.
The AP report continued: “Ciscomani’s win cements a 6-3 Republican majority in Arizona’s congressional delegation and helps the GOP’s efforts to take control of the House. On Friday, three-term Democratic Rep. Tom O’Halleran lost to businessman and former Navy Seal Eli Crane in the 2nd District. In the other highly contested Arizona congressional race, Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton beat Kelly Cooper in the suburban Phoenix 4th District.”
THANK YOU, #AZ06!
In the best country in the world where anything is possible, I am now honored to represent my hometown in the U.S. Congress. I am ready to serve, find solutions for our district’s challenges, & be a strong independent voice for our community. #AmericanDream 1/ pic.twitter.com/Jmuh3x6V9z
— Juan Ciscomani (@JuanCiscomani) November 15, 2022
Arizona's 6th Congressional District: Republican Juan Ciscomani wins House race https://t.co/DaBLvrMXNj
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 15, 2022
While Republicans are all but guaranteed to win control of the U.S. House, Democrats kept control of the Senate — and some top figures are not happy about Republicans underperforming.
Iconic conservative commentator Mark Levin went scorched earth on Sunday night and addressed Republicans’ “underwhelming performance” in the midterm elections.
During the opening monologue on his show, “Life, Liberty & Levin,” he told viewers that the expected Republican gains were “mathematically impossible” and never indicated a “red wave,” despite polling and predictions from many that claimed Democrats were posed to underperform.
“I noticed that many of the same people who were wrong about a red wave are now telling us what to think about a non-red wave. The experts, the consultants, the ruling class, the media, and the politicians. We need to think for ourselves, enough of the static. I said before the election, and I said repeatedly here and on the radio: Forget about the red wave. Forget about a red tsunami. Forget about Armageddon and vote,” Levin began.
In the Senate, Republicans had to defend 20 of the 34 seats up for re-election. To win the majority, Republicans would have had to “tap into” the 14 Democrat incumbent seats, the host explained.
“That was a tall hill to climb. And this is one of the reasons I wasn’t on this red-wave bandwagon so fast,” he said. “I needed to think about it. 2024. This is the key. The next election cycle, 33 seats are up. Now, listen to this. Two-thirds of them are Democrat seats. So the Democrats have to defend 23 Senate seats. The Republicans have to defend only ten.”
“So, the math in 2022 never really led to a red wave possibility and the math in 2024, it does lead to a red wave possibility. Does that mean there will be one? Of course not. But I’m just explaining the math, the simple math. We had about 60% of the seats up. They have almost 70% of the seats up in the next round. So what does that mean? Democrats needed to have some serious gains in the Senate last week to stave off a disaster in 2024. They failed miserably,” Levin continued.
Levin said the suggestion that the GOP would flip six Senate seats “was never going to happen. It was a mathematical impossibility.”
“While the GOP fell short in the House, it’s very likely the Republicans will, in fact, take the House, [though] by a much smaller number,” Levin said.
“They’ll appoint the speaker. They’ll control the committees. Look, in the lead-up to the election, pollsters, consultants, Republican operatives, and D.C. commentators were talking about a red wave as if it had already occurred. What they based it on was flawed and inaccurate,” he said.
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