Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Some top congressional Republicans have privately concluded that it is likely impossible for them to keep control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections, and they are now focused on limiting the scale of the defeat and salvaging the party\u2019s Senate majority.<\/p>\n
Five senior Republican lawmakers, all granted anonymity to speak candidly about their party\u2019s dire position, told POLITICO the House had all but slipped away.<\/p>\n
One senior House Republican said the GOP\u2019s goal at this point was to \u201csave as many Republican seats as we can.\u201d The president, this person said, was not helping.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Trump has made this election all about himself,\u201d the lawmaker said. \u201cNow we have to survive that political storm.\u201d<\/p>\n
A second Republican member of Congress said the movement of campaign advertising made plain which side was in control of the midterms. This lawmaker predicted Democrats would pick up about 10 seats, more than enough to take control of the chamber.<\/p>\n
Even in newly redistricted red states like Florida and Texas, this person said, Republican candidates were \u201changing on with their fingernails.\u201d<\/p>\n
Republicans have already fallen back from several contested House districts that they feel are no longer winnable, including those held by Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa and Tom Kean Jr. of New Jersey. Trump carried their districts just two years ago. The party last week gave up on an Omaha-based district held by retiring Rep. Don Bacon.<\/p>\n
Trump officials and other top GOP operatives say more candidates may be cut off in the coming days, in order to shift advertising money to races where it can make more of a difference. Republican groups have already given up on multiple races where they once hoped to unseat Democratic lawmakers.<\/p>\n
The Republican Party is under extreme pressure across the Midwest, where it is now spending heavily to defend Senate seats in once-reliably MAGA states like Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas.<\/p>\n
Bacon, a maverick often at odds with the White House, said there was no mystery in his party\u2019s political tribulations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve talked to some who are making these decisions: The biggest problem is the president\u2019s polling numbers and unfavorables,\u201d Bacon said.<\/p>\n
White House officials insist they\u2019re not giving up on either chamber of Congress. In a statement, White House spokeswoman Liz Huston said Trump remained \u201ccommitted to maintaining Republican majorities in both the House and Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n
As he departed on Tuesday to campaign in Alaska for embattled GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan, Trump professed optimism about the midterms but acknowledged that sitting presidents typically see their party lose seats in the off year.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I’m doing a tour right now and I’m doing rallies,\u201d Trump added. \u201cThe level of enthusiasm for the Republican Party is way up.\u201d<\/p>\n