Saying there will be a Republican majority in the House come Wednesday is almost common knowledge, but a panel of political analysts and pundits say the GOP could topple upwards of 80 seats after tomorrow’s election, and it could be a good thing for the President.
Mark Halperin, co-author of Game Change and MSNBC political analyst, said that the number of seats Republicans may flip is much higher than the popular 45-55 range. In fact, Halperin confidently said that Democrats are poised to lose “many, many” seats, saying they’ll lose at least 55 and up to 85 seats.
Should Republicans attain the majority in the House, Halperin, joined by ABC News Senior Correspondent Claire Shipman and POLITICO Co-Founder Jim VandeHei, all agreed that no one would stand in his way and even alluded to the possibility of Pelosi being replaced as the top Democrat.
“I think [Pelosi] retires after six months,” Shipman said.
VandeHei reiterated the notion of a Pelosi-less House by saying Steny Hoyer would ultimately become the House’s top Democrat with opposition, if any, coming from leftists like Rep. John Larson of Connecticut.
“I think there’s enough Institutionalists that like [Hoyer] and I think there’s enough liberals that can at least live with him,” Vandehei said.
Current Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio) is the next likely Speaker of the House and, according to the panel, will not be challenged for the House’s top seat. The panel agreed that with Boehner as House Speaker, compromise between the left and right is evident because President Obama wants things to get done and will then be forced to give in a little.
“If you did have Boehner and Hoyer as Leaders, that’s a much different complexion for the leadership,” VandeHei said. “You’re going to have two people who… tend to be more compromisers and not as radioactive as previous leaders, and that sets the stage for there to be the possibility of compromise.”