The stage was set for a triumphant scene: a capacious Washington ballroom, a sparkling lectern flanked by American flags, the words TAKE BACK THE HOUSE plastered in big letters on the wall behind it. Going into the Nov. 8 midterm elections, Kevin McCarthy, the House GOP leader, was sure he and his party would have much to celebrate.
But the triumph never materialized—and as the night wore on, neither did McCarthy. The bar closed; partygoers limped toward the exits. Finally, at 2 a.m., McCarthy emerged to proclaim what he wished to be true: “It is clear we are going to take the House back,” he said. “When you wake up tomorrow, we will be in the majority.”
As the dust settled on a most unusual election, many signs still pointed to McCarthy’s prediction coming to pass—but by a slim margin that surprised both parties. In the Senate too, Republicans fell short of their hopes, with control of the chamber still undecided and a December runoff pending in Georgia. The ingredients had been there for a Republican rout: four-decade high inflation, real wages shrinking, gas prices up, an unpopular aging President. But the predicted red wave was barely a trickle.
