Two new GOP congressmen were sworn into office Tuesday after winning two special elections last week that Republican leaders tout as a sign of GOP momentum heading into the fall general election.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi welcomed Mike Garcia, R-Calif., and Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., to the Capitol Tuesday morning to swear them into office. The newest members of Congress then joined House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., for a press conference where McCarthy said these two wins will have a ripple effect for Republicans retaking the House.
“This is an early indication of what November looks like,” McCarthy said.
However, Pelosi expressed confidence that Democrats will retake the California seat in November and chalked up the special election loss to the unusual circumstance of the pandemic.
“We intend to win that seat in November,” Pelosi said last week. “We don’t see it as any referendum on anything other than it’s the first time we had vote-by-mail in the district … overwhelmingly.”
Republicans need 17 seats to win back control of the House, down from 19 last year, McCarthy noted.
Republicans picked up another lawmaker late last year when Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey switched from the Democratic to Republican Party because he didn’t want to impeach President Trump. Trump thanked him by holding a big campaign rally in his district in January. – READ MORE
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