ORANGE PARK, Fla. — Republicans are expecting a red wave on Tuesday and polls are trending toward a Congress where both chambers are under Republican Party control.
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Congressman Mike Waltz, R-Fla. 16th, is one of Florida’s 16 Republican U.S. representatives.
He told us he feels momentum building behind the GOP, not only here in Florida, but across the nation.
“You’re gonna see a red wave in just a few days,” said Waltz.
Waltz attributes that momentum to the American public rejecting the current administration’s policies.
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“To stop this war on American oil and gas, to get control of crime, to get control of our border,” said Waltz.
Projected GOP gains are growing.
The current Senate projection from Real Clear Politics shows Republicans picking up four seats in the Senate.
There’s also little doubt Republicans will pull a majority in the House.
UNF political science professor Sean Freeder said that’s thanks in part to Florida’s new Congressional map.
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Redistricting this year resulted in a map very favorable to Republicans.
Expectations are the GOP could win at least four additional seats in the Sunshine State alone.
“Right now, currently down by 10 seats in the House, you know, adding four cuts that difference almost in half just from one state alone. So, Florida is a big part of the story,” said Freeder.
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Democratic strategist Steve Schale said he does still see an opportunity for Democrats to hold the Senate due to Republicans’ choice of candidates in battleground states.
“They didn’t nominate the greatest possible candidates in a lot of places and, you know, in the end I think sort of the median voter does tend to win these things,” said Schale.
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Freeder said it could go either way, but a true red wave appears to be a long shot.
“That would mean that Republicans would have to dramatically outperform their polling expectations, but you know right now it looks like a red ripple sounds right to me. It should be a pretty decent night for Republicans I would imagine,” said Freeder.
And while a national red wave may be a tough lift, political experts like Freer say it’s beginning to look inevitable here in Florida.
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Republicans had cast 255,000 more ballots than Democrats as of Friday afternoon, even though Democrats traditionally have led at this point in past Florida elections.
