(Mark Pellin, Headline USA) Not unlike a meteorologist who misses badly on a hurricane forecast, a widely-predicted red wave of Republican victories never materialized as both majorities that the GOP was hoping to regain in the US House and Senate remained in flux early Wednesday, with votes still being tallied in key races but a resounding Republican power grab apparently washed out to sea.
After notching a landslide win in Florida’s governor race, where incumbent Ron DeSantis swamped Democrat challenger Charlie Crist, the predicted red wave turned into more of a ripple.
While the GOP still has hopes of regaining control of the US House, the prospects of pulling a double-whammy for the Senate dimmed considerably when Democrat John Fetterman was projected to beat Trump-backed Republican Mehmet Oz. That race, however, provided no clear bellwether, with Fetterman, who only weeks ago mumbled and stumbled his way through a debate, eked out a razor-thin victory.
The Republican Party outside of Florida has no message. No discipline. No leadership. No courage to confront the important issues head on. That’s why they’re losing to literally brain damaged candidates. We need a total overhaul.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) November 9, 2022
Republican hopes were even less clear in Georgia, where Trump-backed Herschel Walker was running in a dead heat with incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock in a US Senate race too close to call early Wednesday and is likely headed for a run-off.
West Coast results remained tenuous, as ballots remained tight and instances of voter disruptions and Democrat tampering clouded results in hotly contested Arizona and Nevada.
🚨 ELECTION UPDATE 🚨
Brand New ELECTION DAY vote of 55,000 ballots from Maricopa County is HUGE for Kari Lake
Kari Lake – 70.6%
Katie Hobbs – 29.4%We got this, Arizona!
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) November 9, 2022
“The RED WAVE did not happen,” tweeted Rep. Mayra Flores, R-Texas, who lost the seat she won earlier this year in a special election that marked a huge upset win for Republicans.
“Republicans and Independents stayed home. DO NOT COMPLAIN ABOUT THE RESULTS IF YOU DID NOT DO YOUR PART!” Flores wrote.
