Congress
House Republicans win the majority. Now they look to the margin
House Republicans tapped their leadership team for the next Congress on Wednesday and formally notched their majority when the Associated Press called Rep. Juan Ciscomani’s (R-Ariz.) reelection. But the size of that razor-thin majority remains in flux — even before factoring in the departures of three GOP members nominated for roles in the Trump administration.
Here’s the latest on where things stand.
California’s 45th: Several more favorable batches of ballots for Democrats have put Derek Tran within 349 votes of overtaking Rep. Michelle Steel (R) for this hotly contested seat. This one looks poised to go down to the wire, but things have been lining up well for Tran in recent days to possibly flip this seat.
Alaska at-large: GOP challenger Nick Begich leads incumbent Rep. Mary Peltola (D) by more than 9,300 votes in this contest, though he is still below the majority threshold needed to avoid triggering the state’s ranked-choice voting procedures. That process wouldn’t take place until Nov. 20, so we may wait a while before a final call in the Last Frontier.
California’s 13th: An estimated one-quarter of ballots are left to be counted more than a week after Election Day in this district, but incumbent Rep. John Duarte (R) continues to hold his own against Democrat Adam Gray in what had been eyed as a prime pickup shot for Democrats. Duarte’s lead stands at more than 3,700 votes — and ballot drops have not broken against him so far.
California’s 21st and 9th: Incumbent Democratic Reps. Jim Costa and Josh Harder continue to grow their leads in their reelection bids. Costa now leads by more than three percentage points — some 5,100 plus votes — while Harder’s advantage is more than three and a half percentage points — or nearly 6,900 votes.
Iowa’s 1st: Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) leads by more than 700 votes in this razor thin contest but her opponent, Democrat, Christina Bohannan, said she’d seek a recount on Thursday morning. “We have full trust in this process and will accept the results regardless of the outcome,” her campaign manager, Jindalae Suh, said in a statement.
AP calls on Wednesday: Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif); Rep.-elect Dave Min (D-Calif.); Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.)
Pennsylvania Senate: The contest between Sen. Bob Casey (D) and Sen.-elect David McCormick (R) is headed to an automatic statewide recount due to the tight margin. McCormick leads by more than 26,000 votes statewide, though, so Casey faces long odds to reverse the lead. Counties must begin their recounts by Nov. 20 and complete them by Nov. 26, according to Pennsylvania Secretary of State.
Congress
Massie files to run in 2028 after losing House primary
GOP Rep. Thomas Massie filed on Monday to run for his Kentucky House seat in 2028, less than a week after losing a primary fight against a challenger backed by President Donald Trump.
Massie became the latest victim of Trump’s revenge tour last week when former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein successfully ousted him in a primary that shattered electoral spending records.
Trump repeatedly railed against Massie, who has broken with the president on several high-profile issues in recent months, including the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran. Massie also helped lead the congressional effort to force Trump to release the federal government’s files on deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Advertising spending in his primary fight — the most expensive on record — surpassed $32 million as pro-Israel interest groups poured millions into the effort to unseat Massie, who has been an outspoken critic of Israel during his time in Congress.
Massie said in a Monday afternoon statement that the move would allow him “to raise funds to continue my political operations supporting my position as a current office holder and as a potential candidate for federal office,” adding that he had not yet decided which office to seek.
Trump also succeeded in pushing out other Republicans who challenged his leadership in Louisiana and Georgia last week, with GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy and Georgia gubernatorial candidate Brad Raffensperger both losing to Trump-endorsed opponents.
The president also forced out several Indiana state lawmakers who opposed his nationwide redistricting efforts earlier this month, once more proving his iron grip on the party.
But Republicans in Congress and GOP operatives are fretting that Trump’s laserlike focus on vengeance could imperil the party’s legislative agenda ahead of this fall’s midterm elections and potentially cost the GOP control of Texas Sen. John Cornyn’s seat. Trump handed down an eleventh-hour endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton last week, more than two months after promising to weigh in on the ugly primary fight.
Congress
Khanna expresses disappointment about Massie’s defeat
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) expressed disappointment Sunday morning that Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) lost his primary last week.
Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Khanna said of his reaction: “Sadness, disappointment. Thomas is a real friend. He’s a good man.”
Khanna and Massie are very much on opposite ends of the classic left-right ideological spectrum, but they came together to introduce the Epstein Files Transparency Act, requiring the release of files in the case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. They also joined together to attempt, unsuccessfully, to block U.S. involvement in Iran.
Those efforts, as well as other votes, led President Donald Trump to repeatedly denounce Massie and campaign on behalf of Ed Gallrein, Massie’s challenger in their Kentucky congressional district. Gallrein won the primary last week with approximately 55 percent of the vote.
Speaking to host Kristen Welker, Khanna offered his analysis of Massie’s defeat.
“He was taken out for two reasons,” Khanna said. “One: He had the courage to go after some very powerful people in working with me to get the Epstein Transparency Act passed. As you mentioned, that’s historic bipartisan legislation that finally got justice for the survivors. And he had people spend millions of dollars and had the president of the United States after him.
“And second, he worked with me to stop this war in Iran. So for taking on the Epstein class and taking on war, he basically lost his state. And I admire his courage in taking those positions.”
With talk this weekend of a possible deal with Iran, Khanna said it is time for the war to come to an end.
“The answer to your question is yes. I do believe we need a negotiated deal,” he told Welker.
Congress
Absent congressmember Tom Kean Jr. starts working the phone
Rep. Tom Kean Jr., whose two-and-a-half month disappearance has stoked speculation about his health and political future, has begun more actively communicating over the phone.
On Thursday, Kean began calling Republican county chairs in his 7th Congressional District, one of the most competitive in the country in this year’s midterms. The two-term Republican also gave a “lengthy” interview to New Jersey Globe on Thursday afternoon, the first he has granted since he last voted on March 5.
Kean did not respond to a text message from Blue Light News and his voicemail was full Thursday night.
But Kean, 57, gave no details to the Globe on his undisclosed illness, which has kept him out of public view since early March. He said he’s expecting to make a full recovery, that it would not affect his cognitive health, that he plans to run for reelection and that he will publicly discuss his health at an unspecified later date.
“My doctors are confident that I’m on the road to a full recovery,” Kean told New Jersey Globe. “I understand the need for public transparency, and I appreciate the support of my constituents.”
Kean added that he plans to return to voting and campaigning in the next couple weeks. Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), chair of the House GOP’s campaign arm, told reporters Thursday he spoke to Kean and he will be back voting in June.
Kean’s lengthy absence has drawn national media attention, with reporters staking out his home in the wealthy 7th Congressional District, where he faces an extremely competitive reelection, with four Democrats competing in the June 2 primary to take him on in November. His campaign and office staff had repeatedly said that he expects to make a full recovery and would return to work “soon.”
But few people — even Kean’s two fellow New Jersey House Republicans — had recently reported speaking to him. House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that he spoke to Kean last month.
Kean called Republican chairs in his district on Thursday.
“He sounded good to me. Sounded just as normal as always,” said Carlos Santos, the Republican chair of Union County, where Kean lives.
Santos said that he did not ask Kean about his ailment, and that Kean did not disclose it. But he said Kean confirmed he’s running for reelection and that he has his support.
Tracy DiFrancesco, the GOP chair of Somerset County, also spoke with Kean.
“It was just a simple conversation. He sounded just like Tom always sounds. He sounded perfectly fine. He’s basically back. Hopefully we’re going to see him very soon,” she said. “I think he’s doing well and we’re excited to get back on his campaign.”
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