There are 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, and every one of them is being voted on today in these midterm elections.
Right now, Democrats hold a slim majority by eight seats. They hold 220 seats in the chamber while Republicans have 212 seats with three seats vacant.
But election observers have been predicting a red wave, meaning they expect Republicans to win control of the House tonight.
A House race that could be one of the early warning signs for Democrats for that prediction, includes Virginia’s 2nd District. Incumbent Democrat Rep. Elaine Luria, a member of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 breach of the Capitol building, is facing Republican state Sen. Jen Kiggans.
As CBN News reported, recent polling from Christopher Newport University shows Luria and Kiggans tied at 45 percent among likely voters with 8 percent undecided.
In Indiana’s 1st congressional district, Democrat Rep. Frank Mrvan is running against Republican Jennifer-Ruth Green. Even though the district favors Democrats by 3 points, the Cook Political Report, an independent non-partisan newsletter, moved the race from “lean Democrat” to “toss-up” this past summer.
Down in South Texas, as CBN News reported last month, most residents have long voted reliably blue. But this election cycle, there are three conservative Latina candidates vying to transform the politics there and turn the region red.
Those three races include Rep. Mayra Flores, who was the first Republican to win Texas’ 34th district in more than a century. She’s running against Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, who has represented Texas’ 15th District but is running for Flores’ seat after redistricting.
Republican Monica De La Cruz is running to represent Texas’ 15 District against Democrat Michelle Vallejo.
And in Texas’s 28th District, Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar faces off against Republican Cassy Garcia.
A Red Ripple, Giant Wave, or Tsunami?
CBN’s Chief Political Analyst David Brody says the potential “red wave” could be anywhere from a dozen GOP takeaways to more than 50.
When CBN CEO Gordon Robertson asked on Monday’s The 700 Club if the “giant red wave” in the House was going to come true, Brody replied, “I think we’re looking somewhere between a wave and a tsunami. And just to kind of give you a sense of those numbers, anywhere from 0 to 20 seats in the House would be a ripple. In other words, under 20 would be kind of a ripple. That 20 to 35, that’s the sweet spot. That’s the wave everybody’s talking about.”
“And over 35 (seats), in essence, would be that red tsunami,” he explained. “I think we could get into that 35 territory if things go really well on Tuesday night for Republicans. There will be certain indicators that I will be looking for during our election coverage. But I think that’s kind of a sense overall of what’s going on here.”
Brody also said the Democrats’ claim of “you have to vote Democrat to preserve democracy” is only resonating with certain folks in the country.
“What I think I’m going to be looking for on Tuesday night are those exit polls. Where does ‘threats to democracy’ play exactly? The Democrats will say it’s right up there at the top. I think what we’re going to end up finding out, it’s going to be inflation. It’s going to be crime,” Brody said.
“Threats to Democracy will be there somewhere. But it will probably be in that 4 or 5 slots, and that won’t be good for Democrats. That’s going to be a storyline I will be looking at,” he explained.
“Here’s the thing. Inflation is a bi-partisan issue. In essence, it is galvanizing Independents, Republicans, and even some Democrats as it relates to the economy being bad as we know it is,” Brody said. “On top of inflation, you’ve got crime, Gordon. And I think that’s been the double problem here for Democrats. It’s one thing if the economy is going south. It’s quite another if you’ve got the economy and now you also have to deal with the crime factor. So it’s really kind of a double hit for Democrats.”
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