Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) chairwoman Rep. Cheri Bustos reportedly shared her frustration with Democrats’ results in the House of Representatives, as the party has lost a number of seats they were hoping to win Tuesday night
During a Thursday phone call with House Democrats, Bustos reportedly slammed polls and turnout models as the reason Democrats did not expand their majority, losing many seats polls showed Democrats winning.
“I’m furious. Something went wrong here across the entire political world,” Bustos reportedly said as some were projecting Democrats to pick up as many as 15 seats. “Our polls, Senate polls, Gov polls, Presidential polls, Republican polls, public polls, turnout modeling, and prognosticators all pointed to one political environment – that environment never materialized,” she continued.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks to media alongside Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL), chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, at the Democratic National Committee headquarters on Capitol Hill on November 3, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by J. Scott Applewhite – Pool/Getty Images)
As states continue to count votes, many House races were decided on election night, showing big losses for a number of Democrats backed by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and the DCCC. On election day Pelosi and Bustos held a press conference, mentioning how they hoped to gain a number of seats. (RELATED: House Democrats Have Disaster Of A Night)
However, as the votes started coming in, it was bad news for House Democrats who were trying to expand their 232-197 majority. As of Wednesday night, Republicans flipped 7 seats, for a net gain of 5 seats, The New York Times reported. There are still 36 races that have not yet been decided. Democrats flipped 2 seats. National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) spokesman Michael McAdams told the Daily Caller that a House GOP totaling between 208-212 members is not out of the realm of possibilities. (RELATED: ‘The Year Of The Republican Woman’: Here’s A List Of GOP Women Who Won 2020 Elections)
The Daily Caller contacted Bustos’ office about Democrats’ efforts to expand their majority, to which they did not immediately respond.