House Republican Campaign Committee Chairman Returns President-elect Trump’s A convincing victory at the White House in 2024 provides Republicans with ample home field advantage as the party aims to defend its slim majority in the 2026 midterm elections.
"The battleground is really in our favor. There are 14 Democrats who won the seats that Donald Trump also won. There were only three Republicans who won the seats that Kamala Harris won. So that tells me we're going to go on the offensive." ," national republican congressional committee Chairman Rep. Richard Hudson stressed in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
Trump won all seven key battleground states and last month defeated Vice President Harris to capture the national popular vote for the first time in three presidential elections.
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President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida, Monday, December 16, 2024. (AP/Evan Vucci)
Republicans also took control of the Senate from Democrats, although they lost a net two seats in the Senate There are 435 members in the House of Representatives, They will hold a fragile 220-215 majority when the new Congress convenes next month.
Eight years ago, when Trump first won the White House and Republicans retained their House majority, Democrats targeted about two dozen Republicans in the 2018 midterm elections in districts that Trump lost in the 2016 election.
Democrats managed to flip the House majority in a blue wave election.
Fast forward eight years, and things are different, as this time Republicans will be defending seats in friendly turf in the president-elect’s district.
"We have more opportunities to attack," touted Hudson, who has represented a congressional district in central North Carolina for more than a dozen years.
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Hudson also noted that House Republicans who will be targeted by Democrats again in the upcoming election cycle "are really battle-tested. I mean, they're people who have been through fire before. They've been through it several times now , and they've spent millions of dollars fighting them.
"They've been able to be successful because they work very hard in their area. As you know, they've built a very strong brand, they know how to get the job done and how to contribute to the community," he stressed. . “Republicans in tough seats are our best candidates.”
The three House Republicans whose districts Harris won last month were Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon, Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and New York Rep. Mike Lawler.
President-elect Donald Trump meets with Rep. Richard R. of North Carolina, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), during the fourth day of the Republican National Convention at the Feather Forum in Milwaukee on July 18, 2024. de hudson. (Wynn McNamee/Getty Images)
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 midterm elections.
"I would certainly rather have him on the ballot because his voters won't support another candidate," Hudson admitted.
But he argued, "If you look at the way this campaign went, we campaigned on a set of key issues that we promised we would achieve. If we achieve those goals and get Donald Trump and our Candidates running together, I believe we can turn away a higher percentage of voters than we have in past midterm elections.
Hudson said Trump has been a "great partner" to House Republicans this year and will be a partner again in the upcoming election cycle.
"(Trump) is very concerned about getting a majority in the House because he knows a Democratic majority in the House means his agenda will stall. So he was very involved and was a very good partner with us in the last election. , I expect to continue.
North Carolina Rep. Richard Hudson, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, gives a Fox News digital interview in Washington, D.C., December 11, 2024 (Fox News-Paul Steinhauser)
Hudson, who will serve as NRCC president for a second consecutive cycle, said the committee's top priority is candidate recruitment and fundraising.
"I mean, first of all, we have to go out and recruit candidates. You know, the quality of candidates is important. And then we have to go out and raise money. So I'll be on the road and be there but I'm looking forward to it," he stressed .
Fox News' Emma Woodhead contributed to this report
Editor's note: Fox News Digital also interviewed Rep. Susan DelBene, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in Washington. The report will be released on Friday.