WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump said Republican losses were due to his absence from the ballot, as early election returns showed Democrats scored key victories in House and Senate races.
“I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP,” he wrote Tuesday evening on Truth Social.
A White House official echoed Trump in an email. The White House is in a defiant mood as election results come in, the official said, blaming turnout and candidate quality for Democratic wins.
Democrats won several contested U.S. Senate races by 8:30 p.m. ET and scored a number of victories in other contests.
“The White House mood is defiant,” the official said in the email. “President Trump was not on the ballot, and it’s proven that Trump voters show up when he is on the ballot.
“Also, candidate quality matters,” the official continued. “President Trump did a better job promoting many of the candidates on the ballot than the candidates did themselves.”
Trump, his Cabinet officials, and political advisers have gathered in the White House East Room to watch the results.
According to the White House official, voters who backed Democrats might start feeling “a serious case of buyer’s remorse” once the Iran war ends and gas prices start to fall.
Regardless of how the election plays out, the official said, “Trump’s resolve to stop the Radical Left is only going to become stronger. Buckle up.”
Ahead of Election Day, indicators suggested Democrats were favored to gain control of the House, but the Senate remained up in the air with tight races across seven states: Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, and Texas.
With Republicans holding six of those seven contested Senate seats, Democrats need a net gain of four to flip the chamber.
At the time of publication, Democrats had already flipped North Carolina. Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper won over former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley in the Tar Heel State’s Senate race, which The Associated Press called at around 8:30 p.m. ET.
In Georgia’s Senate race, incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) defeated Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.), who was backed by Trump.
In another set of early wins for Democrats, Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) and Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), and Democratic candidate Pia Dandiya won their races in Florida’s Districts 25, 14, and 22, respectively. Republicans had redrawn these districts to favor the GOP.
Moskowitz defeated former Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer, Dandiya defeated Casey Askar, and Castor beat Mike Beltran.
Gaining control of Congress would grant Democrats significant power to thwart Trump’s agenda during his final two years in office. However, questions remain about how effectively they could push back.
The president has said he’s prepared to “veto everything” Congress sends him until he reaches a deal.
“I guess I’ll become Mr. Veto,” he said in an interview with the New York Post’s Miranda Devine, aired on Fox News on Nov. 1, when asked how he would deal with a potentially Democratic-controlled Congress.
“And then at some point, we’ll probably make deals. That’s what’s happened to me. This wouldn’t be the first time you’ll have a president, and he won’t have the House or the Senate.”
Jackson Richman contributed to this report.
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