Democrats watch as their House hopes grow "deeply troubling"
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks to the press outside the White House on Jan. 17, 2024. Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images.
Democrats are looking on nervously as their last-ditch goal of recapturing the House in an otherwise brutal election shows signs of fizzling.
Why it matters: The House emerged early Wednesday morning as Democrats' last hope of denying President-elect Trump full control of Congress.
- Republican and Democratic operatives alike concede that while Democrats still have a technical shot at picking up the House, the GOP has the inside track and could even ultimately grow their five-seat majority.
- Asked to describe the mood of the caucus, one House Democrat told Axios, "Shock, sadness, anger, frustration, disappointment."
State of play: While Democrats were able to take down a handful of New York Republicans, the GOP offset those losses by flipping Democratic seats in Michigan and Pennsylvania.
- Dozens of races remained uncalled on Wednesday, particularly in Western states where there enough uncounted ballots to leave the battle for the House up in the air.
- But Democrats would have to defend most of their vulnerable incumbents and pick up a multitude of GOP seats in California and Arizona to eke out a majority.
- Republicans easily swept the Senate and appear headed for a comfortable majority there.
What we're hearing: Several House Democrats, speaking on the condition of anonymity, acknowledged that the picture for their party looked bleak as of Wednesday afternoon.
- A senior House Democrat told Axios their party has a "very outside chance" of flipping the chamber.
- Another lawmaker, granting that Democrats would have to essentially run the table in California and Arizona, called the outlook "deeply troubling."
Yes, but: Several other Democrats insisted they are not drawing any conclusion until the outlook in the West becomes clearer.
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), in a statement, said that "the path to take back the majority now runs through too close to call pick-up opportunities" in Arizona, Oregon, Iowa and California.
- "The party that will hold the majority in the House of Representatives in January 2025 has yet to be determined," he added.
What's next: House Democrats are expected to huddle virtually for a members-only caucus meeting Thursday at 12pm ET, according to an invite obtained by Axios.
- House Democratic leadership is set to convene a meeting before then, on Wednesday evening, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The bottom line: "There needs to be some serious looking in the mirror as Democrats, and we have to take accountability," another House Democrat said.
