CNN anchor Jake Tapper said Tuesday night that the evening’s initial results do not portend a “blue wave” of Democratic victories.
“It is entirely possible that the Democrats will regain control of the House today, but I have to say that when you look at what’s going on today, this is not a blue wave,” Tapper said shortly after 9 p.m. Eastern.
“This is not a wave knocking out all sorts of Republican incumbents,” he added.
Tapper’s comments came moments after CNN called a competitive Kentucky House race for Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.), who faced a stiff challenge from Democrat Amy McGrath. President Trump won the district easily in 2016, but Democrats were optimistic about possibly flipping the seat.{mosads}
A McGrath victory “would have really been an indication of a big powerful blue wave,” Tapper said.
Tapper noted that Democrats still retain a “decent chance” of winning back control of the House. The party must gain 23 seats, and had flipped two at the time of the anchor’s comments.
Democrats, though, are also playing defense in the Senate, where 10 incumbents are running in states Trump won in 2016.
Multiple CNN panelists agreed a few moments later that a blue wave was unlikely.
Democratic strategist James Carville expressed similar sentiments earlier in the night as initial results from Florida, Georgia, Indiana and other states began filtering in.