Next year’s midterm elections will be as good to Republicans as the seminal 1994 vote, which gave the GOP unified control of Congress for the first time in more than 40 years, Sen. Lindsey Graham predicted Monday night.
“I think there’s a tidal wave brewing,” Graham (R-SC) told Fox News’ “Hannity.” “I think this is going to be 1994 all over again. When you look at rampant inflation, out-of-control crime and a broken border and just [a] general lack of knowing what you’re doing, lack of competency … the Republican Party’s going to have a great comeback if we recruit the right people.”
In 1994, the GOP picked up a net of 54 House seats to gain the majority for the first time since 1952. On the Senate side, Republicans picked up a net of eight seats to regain control of the upper chamber for the first time in eight years.
In 2022, Republicans need to make a net gain of just five seats to regain control of the House and a net gain of just one seat to take back the Senate.
“We got a lot of opportunity on the map in the Senate,” Graham told Fox News host Sean Hannity before adding that “we’re gonna take back the House, Sean, unless we completely screw this up.”
While Republicans are eyeing Senate races in Arizona, Georgia, New Hampshire and Nevada as potential pickup opportunities, they must also defend seats held by retiring members in North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania. In Wisconsin, Sen. Ron Johnson has not said whether he will run for re-election next year, while Florida Sen. Marco Rubio will have to fend off a challenge from Democratic Rep. Val Demings.
Graham also backed former NFL running back Herschel Walker to enter the Republican race to challenge Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock next year. The Heisman Trophy-winning former running back for the University of Georgia Bulldogs is believed to be the heavy favorite in a GOP primary, but has not said whether or when he will announce his candidacy.
“I hope Herschel Walker runs. Herschel Walker is talking like the average Georgian. He wants his mom to be able to go to the store without being hurt,” Graham said.
“I think Herschel fits Georgia like a glove,” the South Carolinian went on. “He’s a conservative in every sense of the word. He’s a hero in Georgia and he understands law and order. He’ll have the cops’ back. He’ll be tough on all the things you need to be tough [on] and he won’t waste your money. He’s a fiscal conservative … in my view, Herschel’s the right guy for Georgia.”
