Episode #82: Speaker Newt McCarthy?

For the second exclusively elections-focused episode, Jacob and Eric take a closer look at the current state of the race for the United States House of Representatives. After discussing the GOP’s new national platform as outlined by Kevin McCarthy’s “Commitment to America,” and reacting to Biden’s latest moves to bring down gas prices yet again, they focus on a handful of House races that could indicate what kind of a majority the GOP may ultimately win at the end of the day.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Intro
05:18 Kevin McCarthy’s Gingrich-esque “Commitment to America”
22:52 Biden’s Hail Mary to save the House for Democrats
36:23 Eric covers five races Republicans could lose
37:02 – TX-34, Gonzalez vs. Flores
45:18 – OH-09, Kaptur vs. Majewski
54:55 – CA-27, Smith vs. Garcia
01:01:55 – CA-45, Chen vs. Steel
01:03:41 – CA-22, Salas vs. Valadao
01:14:22 Jacob covers five races Republicans could flip and two tight ones they need to hold
01:15:07 – OR-06, Salinas vs. Erickson
01:17:07 – OR-05, McLeod-Skinner vs. Chavez-DeRemer
01:19:41 – NJ-07, Malinowski vs. Kean
01:21:52 – RI-02, Magaziner vs. Fung
01:24:32 – MI-07, Slotkin vs. Barrett
01:27:42 – NE-02, Vargas vs. Bacon
01:28:36 – CA-41, Rollins vs. Calvert

SHOWNOTES

Kevin McCarthy’s Gingrich-esque “Commitment to America:” https://www.republicanleader.gov/commitment/ 

Kevin McCarthy does not support impeaching Joe Biden: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/10/19/mccarthy-impeachment-biden-gop-midterms

Vox sounding increasingly bearish on Dems’ chances: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/10/19/23408788/midterms-2022-polls-republicans-forecast

Biden releasing another 15 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves to reduce gas prices: http://www.whec.com/business/facing-tough-midterms-biden-releasing-oil-from-us-reserve/

Intelligencer article including an anecdote about how the GOP is throwing money away on Mayra Flores’ re-election bid: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/how-the-border-went-maga/ar-AA133oxh  

Trump-backed House candidate in Ohio’s 9th J.R. Majewski allegedly exaggerated his service in Afghanistan: https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-afghanistan-ohio-campaigns-e75d2566635f11f49332bd1c46711999 

FiveThirtyEight’s handy guide on how congressional districts changed after the 2022 redistricting process: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/redistricting-2022-maps/ 

How California may once again determine a House majority: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/10/california-congressional-races-nancy-pelosi

Jacob’s blog article on midterms 100 years ago that flipped 77 House seats: https://historyhowithappened.com/throwback-to-1922-midterm-elections/