(NewsNation) — U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), said there would be no “red wave” in this year’s midterm elections if Republicans do not win a Senate seat in New Hampshire.
Trump-endorsed candidate Don Bolduc was running in New Hampshire to unseat Democratic incumbent Maggie Hassan but Decision Desk HQ called the race for Hassan, meaning Graham’s hope for a red wave is unlikely.
“I think it’s too early, I think it’s going to be a very good night, a red wave would get New Hampshire and I am not so sure we’re going to get New Hampshire,” Graham said.
Republicans are hoping to regain control of the evenly split Senate, and races in New Hampshire, Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Nevada are crucial to that goal. With New Hampshire called for Hassan, that GOP mission gets harder and certainly strays away from the narrative of a “red wave” some predicted.
Graham feels this year’s midterms will look less like a “red wave,” or more like the 2018 midterm elections in which Democrats picked up seats from Republicans who controlled the White House at the time.
“I am not here to tell you everybody becoming a Republican this is sort of like 2018 probably where the party in power loses seats like they’re supposed to, and the Republican party needs to come to the middle with Biden, if we can find a middle with him on things that matter to people like lowering energy costs and securing the border,” Graham said. “We’ll see how this plays out.”
Graham did believe that Republicans would pick up 25 House seats and two Senate seats, giving them a majority in both chambers.