Trump’s landslide victory in 2024 puts House GOP ahead in 2026 midterm elections

The head that returns from the Republican House The campaign committee says “the battleground is really playing in our favor” as it works to defend the GOP’s razor-thin majority in the chamber in the 2026 midterm elections.

While House Republicans retained control of the House in November’s elections, Democrats made gains and the GOP will hold a fragile 220-215 majority when it’s at its peak.

The party in power traditionally loses seats in the House in the next mid-term elections.

But thanks to President-elect Trump Winning the popular vote and sweeping seven key battleground states while taking back the White House, Republican National Committee Chairman Rep. Richard Hudson is looking forward to some home-field advantage during the campaign .

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President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP/Evan Vucci)

“There are 14 Democrats who won seats also carried by Donald Trump. There are only three Republicans in seats that were held by Kamala Harris. That tells me we’re going to be on the offensive,” Hudson stressed on a recent Fox News Digital. interview

Eight years ago when Trump first won the White House and the GOP held on Majority of the chamberDemocrats targeted roughly two dozen Republicans in the 2018 midterms in districts that Trump lost in the 2016 election.

The Democrats, in a blue wave election, succeeded in changing the House majority.

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Fast forward eight years, and it’s a different story, as this time Republicans will be defending friendly turf seats in districts the president-elect carried. And Hudson argues that the home field advantage will help the GOP overcome traditional midterm headwinds.

“There’s a lot more opportunity for offense,” said Hudson, who has represented a congressional district in central North Carolina for a dozen years.

Hudson also argued that House Republicans who will again be targeted by Democrats in the next election cycle are “really battle-tested. I mean, they’re people who’ve been through fire before. They’ve been through multiple cycles now with millions of dollars spent against them.”

Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, chairman of the Republican National Congressional Committee, is interviewed by Fox News Digital on December 11, 2024 in Washington, DC (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

“They have been able to succeed because they work hard in their districts. They have established very strong brands, as you know, people who know how to do things and how to do it for their community,” he stressed. “Republicans who are in tough seats are our best candidates.”

The three House Republicans sitting in districts Harris carried last month are Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Mike Lawler of New York.

But there will be one big difference in 2026: Trump, who helped push low-propensity voters to the polls this year, won’t be on the ballot in the 2026 midterms.

“I would certainly prefer to have him on the ballot, because it turns out voters who don’t turn out for other candidates,” Hudson acknowledged.

But he argued: “If you look at how this race is shaping up, we campaigned on a key set of things that we promised we would deliver. If we deliver on those things and we have Donald Trump there with us campaigning with our candidates. , I think we can turn out a higher percentage of those voters than we’ve had in the past midterms.”

Hudson said Trump “was a great partner” with House Republicans this year and will be again in the next election cycle.

“(Trump) cares deeply about having a majority in the House, because he understands that a Democratic majority in the House means his agenda stops. So he’s been very engaged, he’s been a very good partner for us these last elections, and I anticipate that it will continue.”

Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington State, chair of the challenger Democratic Congressional Campaign Committeesays he wants to “build on” the “things we did right” as he seeks to regain the House Democratic majority lost in the 2022 midterms.

“We’ve won in tough districts, we’ve won across the country,” DelBene stressed in a recent Fox News Digital interview.

DelBene, who is also serving a second consecutive term leading his party’s House campaign committee, said the 2024 accomplishments are “a great example of what we need to continue to build on, going into 2026.”

“Number one, having great candidates who are independent-minded and focused on the needs of their communities,” DelBene said as he listed his to-do list. “These candidates and their voices were very important in this election.”

DelBene said to “make sure they (candidates) have the resources to get information out to voters and to continue to directly address the issues that are most important to their communities, reducing costs, ensuring that there is opportunity” are also top priorities.

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With Trump back in the White House and the GOP in control of both houses of Congress, DelBene said Republicans “will be held accountable for what they do in this country and the impact it has on working families.”

“We will hold them accountable for their votes and the actions they take, especially if they are not supporting working families,” he stressed. “I think people want governance to work. So if Republicans aren’t willing to work bipartisanly to get things done, that’s going to be a key part of the 2026 election as well.”

Looking at the 2026 map, DelBene said Democrats will have “opportunities across the country.”

And he said the DCCC’s job is to “reach voters where they are and make sure they get accurate information about where our candidates stand.”

Fox News’ Emma Woodhead contributed to this report.