Pelosi says Dems have chance to hold House, insists Biden not a drag

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday said Democrats have a chance to maintain control of the House in the midterm elections — despite forecasts predicting a GOP takeover — while insisting that President Biden and his low approval ratings are not a drag on the party’s efforts this year.

“I do,” Pelosi told Judy Woodruff on “PBS NewsHour” during an interview when asked if she sees a way for Democrats to hold the House. “I have always objected to the presentation, the media thread that was out there [that] you can’t win because it’s an off year.”

Pelosi’s comments came minutes after the first polls closed at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, kicking off the release of results in this year’s midterm elections.

Election forecasters for months have been predicting Republicans would win control of the House this month, pointing to decades-high inflation, concerns about the economy and crime, and Biden’s approval rating, which has been underwater since last summer.

On Tuesday, according to FiveThirtyEight, Biden’s approval rating was 41.4 percent and his disapproval rating was 53.5 percent.

Additionally, according to historical trends, the party that controls the White House typically loses seats in Congress in the sitting president’s first midterm election.

Pelosi, however, rejected the notion that Biden has been a weight on the party. Asked by Woodruff if Biden has been a drag for Democrats this year, the Speaker responded, “No, not at all.”

“He has been a great president. He has not received the respect and the appreciation,” she said, naming a number of legislative achievements notched during Biden’s first two years in office.

“And in our districts, our members are doing just fine in terms of their own approval rating because of what they [have] done to vote or, in terms of our candidates, how they intend to vote,” she added.

The Speaker credited the party’s “great candidates who have confidence and courage to run because they believe and they know why they’re running.”

“And they know that our democracy [is] at stake, our planet is at risk, but also that you win these elections on the kitchen table issues, and we have a great record,” she said.

“We have far superior candidates, we own the ground out there today, and just because a pundit in Washington says history says you can’t win is no deterrent for the enthusiasm we have out there,” Pelosi added. “So I think you’ll be surprised this evening.”

Democrats this cycle largely focused their campaigns on abortion, after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade over the summer, and the future of democracy, following last year’s Capitol riot. Republicans, on the other hand, leaned into issues such as the economy and crime, which, according to several polls, were top of mind for voters this cycle.

Asked about some Democratic analysts who said the party did not focus enough on the economy and crime, Pelosi knocked those individuals.

“With all due respect to whoever those analysts are, our candidates know their districts, and they are connecting to their districts,” she said. “So the message that might be useful for somebody in Washington, D.C., is maybe not the message that works.”

“So in their districts, they know all politics is local. They know how to connect to their voters better than some general pundits in Washington, D.C., with all due respect,” she added.