Top House Democrat says party would lose elections if they were held today: report

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (N.Y.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), reportedly warned in a closed-door meeting last week that if the midterm elections were to be held right now, Democrats would lose their majority to Republicans.

Politico reported Maloney made the remarks based off new polling conducted by the DCCC.

“We are not afraid of this data … We’re not trying to hide this,” DCCC Executive Director Tim Persico told Politico. “If [Democrats] use it, we’re going to hold the House. That’s what this data tells us, but we gotta get in action.”

A Democratic strategist told The Hill the DCCC’s polling data showed Democrats had an opportunity to run on President Biden’s economic agenda and that undecided voters are more in favor of Democrats and Biden than Republicans.

According to the strategist, the DCCC’s data found that voters are largely turned away by Republican extremism, pointing to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and continued loyalty to former President Trump.

When reached by The Hill, representatives for Maloney declined to confirm or deny that the congressman had issued such a warning.

Democrats currently hold a tenuous majority of only eight seats in the House, with the Senate evenly split 50-50. Republicans have vowed to take both the House and the Senate in the upcoming 2022 midterm elections, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) saying last month that a takeover would force the Biden administration into the political center.