Republicans win 5 more seats, pulling within one seat of 218 House majority
OAKLAND - Closing in, but not yet clinched, the Republican Party is locked in battle to take control of the House that has come down to a handful of Congressional districts.
Monday night, five key House races were called for Republicans. That gives the GOP control of 217 House seats, just one seat away from a very slim majority.
In Southern California, Ken Calvert won re-election in California's 41st Congressional district spanning Riverside County. Republican Michelle Steel won re-election in California's 45th Congressional district spanning Orange and Los Angeles Counties.
New York Republican Brandon Williams was declared winner in the 22nd Congressional District late Monday night.
Two Arizona House seats went to Republicans Juan Ciscomani (AZ-6) and David Schweikert (AZ-1).
"I think Republicans are going to be divided, and it will be mayhem," said Charlotte Hill, Director of the Democracy Policy Initiative at the UC Goldman School of Public Policy.
Hill says she sees two takeaways for Republicans from the tight midterm elections.
"Most Republican politicians and strategists found extremism doesn't sell across the country. Trump had a bunch of hand-picked nominees that lost," said Hill.
Hill says she anticipates the GOP will have deep divisions, with Trump supporters winning in the most conservative districts.
"Trumpism does win in very red districts and really red states," said Hill, "Reconciling those two takeaways is going to be the main challenge in 2024"
Signs of a divided GOP are already emerging, as California Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy appears to lack votes to become House Speaker with the Freedom Caucus wing calling for Rep. Jim Jordon (R-OH) or other far-right leaders.
"They'll be pulled to the far right by the Marjorie Taylor Greene-types, pulled more toward the center by the somewhat more moderate members of the Republican Party. McCarthy won't be able to lose any votes," said Hill.
"I'm skeptical that Trump's moment is actually passing in any real meaningful way. He has shown time and again that he can overcome setbacks that would ruin other politicians. And that's because he has the unwavering loyalty from such a strong segment of the Republican base," said Hill.
With Trump expected to announce a second presidential run Tuesday, some Republicans are speaking out and challenging him. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has made it clear he is considering a presidential run in 2024, despite Donald Trump's apparent interest in a second term.
Former Vice President Pence openly criticized Trump's actions during the January 6th insurrection during an interview with ABC News.
"I mean the President's words were reckless. It was clear he decided to be part of the problem," said Pence.
"I'm skeptical that Trump's moment is actually passing in any real meaningful way. He has shown time and again that he can overcome setbacks that would ruin other politicians. And that's because he has the unwavering loyalty from such a strong segment of the Republican base," said Hill.
"We still have a very far-right Republican base of voters who want to see someone like Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis, representing the party. To the extent that we didn't see the Trumpist candidates winning and mass in the midterms, it wasn't because the Republican base was moderating. It was because we had swing voters turning out and we had a strong turnout on the left that moved some of those outcomes toward the Democratic Party. So I think in the Republican primaries, you're still going to have those far right voters who want to see a Trump or DeSantis win. To me, all signs right now point to one of them taking the Republican nomination for '24," said Hill.