For those of you who read this blog, you will recall that I made a few predictions about the outcome of the midterm elections held yesterday. I am here to eat my share of electoral crow, as my crystal ball was not only clouded, but shattered by the end of the evening.
As you now know, the House of Representatives may, just may, fall into the Republican hands, but with nowhere near the 240 seats won that I claimed. The Senate may remain with the Democrats, as they will have 50 plus the Vice-President. There is also a possibility the Republicans will eke out a victory with 51 seats, as we await the results in Arizona, Nevada and Georgia. Either way, my prediction of 53 Republican seats was quite mistaken.
All across the board, winnable seats for those offices were taken by the Democrats. Most pundits saw a red wave, but all that was seen was a weak tide coming in, and that may not be enough to take the House away from the Dems. Most pollsters, as well as this writer, now have the proverbial egg on our faces. Yet, I guess that I will try again in 2024 to be a little more accurate! Perhaps I should go to tea leaves for the predictions.
About the only satisfying results came from Florida, Texas and Georgia. In Florida, Ron DeSantis won over former governor Charlie Crist, in a landslide. This makes the Florida governor the leading Republican for many in his party for the 2024 Presidential nomination.
In Texas, perennial loser candidate, Robert Francis (Beto) O’Rourke, lost in a lopsided campaign against governor Greg Abbott. Beto should be retired from electoral politics, but will probably mount another abortive run for the White House in ‘24.
Georgia elected Governor Brian Kemp for a second term, defeating the media darling Stacey Abrams in another blowout. This time, unlike 2018, she conceded and called to congratulate Kemp on his victory. Somewhere, Abrams will resurface and continue her grifting, and if she runs for another office, probably lose.
Other than those, it looks like my projections were simply wrong. Maybe it is good I am a retired history teacher and not a professional political pundit. If paid for results, it looks like I would be poverty stricken!