House Speaker John Boehner had Capitol Hill in a tizzy Tuesday after telling Fox News that the GOP had a 30 percent chance of losing control to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats in the fall election. “I would say that there is a two-in-three chance that we win control of the House again, but there’s a one-in-three chance that we could lose,” said Boehner.
Democrats jumped on the comments, with the the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Rep. Steve Israel, claiming it was proof his team was succeeding and House Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer arguing that Democrats have a 50-50 chance to win back the House.
But few pundits and election officials believe that the GOP can lose the House and they say Boehner knows it. So what was he doing? Some insiders say he’s worried House Republicans have become complacent. Ditto for GOP donors.
Other long-time Republican advisors suggest that Boehner is making sure not to repeat the mistake of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich who predicted huge victories in 1998 and, when the GOP lost a few seats, was forced to resign.
National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Paul Lindsay told Secrets, “The stakes are too high for anyone on our team to take this election for granted. Speaker Boehner is right that we’ve got work to do, and we’re working every day to ensure that Nancy Pelosi never has his job again.”
