White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Tuesday evening that Republicans have limited the damage Democrats will do in the midterm elections thanks to the president’s leadership on the campaign trail and the success of his administration during his first two years in office.
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“Frankly, the candidates that have embraced the president, and the president has gone in to campaign for [in the] last several weeks, are candidates we see doing very well tonight in those places. Certainly feel good about where things are headed,” Sanders told Fox News on Tuesday evening. “Again, very early in this process. We feel comfortable where we are”
“Anyone who expected a blue wave tonight probably won’t get that. I think that’s one hundred percent due to the president’s leadership and the success he has had in the first two years since taking office,” Sanders said. “He has had unprecedented success. You see Americans come out and unanimously say they’re proud of this president and what he has done in the two years.”
Sanders’ comments come as election results continue to roll in Tuesday evening and the probability of Democrats taking control of the House looks like a virtual certainty.
Minutes after Sanders appeared on Fox News, the network called the House for Democrats.
Fox can now project that Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives for the first time in eight years, dealing a major setback to President Trump’s legislative agenda and giving fresh hope to liberals who want to investigate and perhaps even impeach the president
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) November 7, 2018
Democrats need to pick up 23 seats in order to take control of the House, which most major polling houses pegged as a “more than likely” scenario heading into Election Day. The current House electoral map has 202 seats locked in for Democrats and 194 for Republicans, which leaves 39 races, considered “tossups,” for either party to snag.
As of 9:38 p.m. Tuesday evening, Democrats picked up two seats.
Democrats are widely expected to open a litany of investigations into the president and members of his administration if they take control of the House.
Asked about her thoughts on Democrats taking the House, Sanders said she hopes Democrats are focused on working with the president to find common ground.
“I think that should happen,” Sanders said of whether or not Democrats should focus on working with the administration. “I think that’s what America wants to see. We have a president that is willing to work across the aisle to get things done.”
“We feel good where we are in the Senate. If Democrats take the House, they shouldn’t waste time investigating,” Sanders said. “They should focus on what the people put them there to do. There are things the president would like to work with them on.”
