Democratic Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond attributed unexpected Republican gains in the House of Representatives to President Donald Trump’s success in “increasing Republican turnout.”
With three races still uncalled, Republicans are expected to gain anywhere from 10 to 12 seats in the House, resulting in a slim enough margin of power for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to contend last week that his party may even be able to help “run the floor.”
Richmond was asked by NBC anchor Chuck Todd during a Sunday morning “Meet the Press” appearance to explain why Democrats lost seats in the chamber despite a victory for President-elect Joe Biden.
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“Look, it was a rough-and-tough election,” said Richmond. “And I will say this and I’ve gone back and looked at numbers and other things. Donald Trump increasing Republican turnout made a big deal.”
“But there’s a whole I think post-election audit that we should do and analysis to see where we ran strong, where we didn’t run strong,” he continued. “I think the fact Joe Biden won Georgia and we still have two Senate seats that are in runoffs could be a telling tale for what’s happening.”
The Democratic congressman used a football analogy to argue that Democrats should “all run the same plays” even if they don’t run “the exact same route.” (RELATED: Maxine Waters: Country Headed From ‘Dark Days’ Of Trump To The ‘Dawn Of A New Progressive Era’)
Richmond has reportedly been tapped to serve as a senior advisor to Biden in the White House.