McConnell privately saying GOP could lose House and Senate in 2018: report

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has been privately saying that Republicans could lose both the House and Senate in the 2018 midterm elections, according to a Politico report.

Politico reported Thursday that McConnell has been sharing the concerns privately as GOP leaders worry about losing control of Congress in the midterms.

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel also presented a report to White House chief of staff John Kelly showing how the GOP had lost favor with female voters, according to Politico.

{mosads}And Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has also told donors that he’s afraid that GOP lawmakers in swing districts could retire, opening up House seats to Democrats.

A string of Republican lawmakers have already announced their retirements, and the GOP will only hold a one-seat majority in the Senate once Sen.-elect Doug Jones (D-Ala.) is sworn in.

White House political director Bill Stepien told Politico that while a sitting president’s party tends to lose congressional seats in an administration’s first midterm election cycle, he and other GOP leaders hope strong economic numbers and the newly passed tax-reform legislation could help Republicans.

Trump also reportedly plans to aggressively campaign for Republicans across the country in 2018.