Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty
Republicans had hoped for a red wave. What they got looked more like purple rain.
As Tuesday night turned into Wednesday morning, what was once a foregone conclusion of the 2022 midterms was now up in the air. It’s possible, perhaps even more likely than not, that Republicans will take back the House of Representatives. And the GOP could still win the Senate. But it is also possible that Democrats and President Joe Biden will end up with an historic night.
Democrats always expected to lose seats in the House. That much still looked like a solid bet, after a few seats were redistricted out of Democratic control. What no one seemed to expect, however, was that Democrats could possibly restrain a GOP majority to just a few seats—or even potentially retain the majority themselves.