11 January 2025

says the returning chairman of the House Republican Campaign Committee President-elect Trump A convincing win in the White House in 2024 gives the GOP plenty of home ground advantages as the party aims to defend its slim majority in the 2026 midterm elections.

“The battlefield is really in our favor. There are 14 Democrats who won seats that Donald Trump also won. And there are only three Republicans in seats that Kamala Harris won. That tells me we're going to be on the offensive.” “,” National Republican Congressional Committee Rep. Richard Hudson confirmed in a recent Fox News Digital interview.

Trump won all seven battleground states and, for the first time in three presidential elections, won the national popular vote when he defeated Vice President Harris last month.

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President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, December 16, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida.

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, December 16, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida. (AFP/Evan Vucci)

Republicans also succeeded in wresting control of the Senate from Democrats, despite their net loss of two Senate seats. A council of 435 members, They will enjoy a fragile 220-215 majority when the new Congress convenes next month.

Eight years ago, when Trump first won the White House and the GOP maintained its majority in the House, Democrats targeted nearly two dozen Republicans in the 2018 midterms in districts Trump lost in the 2016 election.

In the blue wave elections, the Democrats succeeded in overturning the majority in the House of Representatives.

Eight years later, the story looks different, as this time Republicans will be defending their seats in friendly districts in areas won by the president-elect.

“There's a much greater opportunity for us to attack,” said Hudson, who has represented a congressional district in central North Carolina for more than a dozen years.

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Hudson also explained that the House Republicans who Democrats will target again in the next election cycle “are really battle-tested. I mean, they're people who have been under fire before. They've been through a lot of experiences.” Courses now with millions of dollars being spent against them.”

“They have been able to succeed because they work very hard in their areas. They have created very strong brands and, you know, people who know how to get things done and how to provide services to their community,” he stressed. “Republicans in tough seats are our best candidates.”

The three House Republicans in the districts Harris won last month are Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, and Mike Lawler of New York.

Now President-elect Donald Trump greets Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum on July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee.

Now President-elect Donald Trump greets Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum on July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee. (Wayne McNamee/Getty Images)

But there will be a big difference in 2026: Trump, who helped push low-propensity voters to the polls this year, will not be on the ballot in the 2026 midterms.

“I definitely prefer having it on the ballot because it brings out voters who don't support other candidates,” Hudson admitted.

But, he said, “If you look at the way this race is shaping up, we've campaigned on a key set of issues that we promised we would deliver. If we deliver those things and Donald Trump is there with us campaigning with our candidates.” “I think we are able to turn out a higher percentage of these voters than we have in midterm elections in the past.”

Hudson said Trump “has been a great partner” with House Republicans this year and will continue to be so again in the next election cycle.

He added, “(Trump) cares very much about getting a majority in the House of Representatives because he realizes that a Democratic majority in the House means that his agenda will be largely stalled. And so he was very engaged, and he was a very good partner for us in the last election, and I expect that.” continuous.”

Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, in an interview with Fox News Digital on December 11, 2024, in Washington, D.C.

Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, in an interview with Fox News Digital on December 11, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Hudson, who returns for a second consecutive term as NRCC chair, said that at the top of his committee's to-do list is recruiting candidates and raising money.

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“I mean, first thing, we have to go out and hire candidates. You know, the quality of the candidate is important. And then we have to go raise money. And so I'll be on the road and being out there helping our incumbents but I'm looking forward to that,” he stressed.

Fox News' Emma Woodhead contributed to this report

Editors' Note: Fox News Digital also interviewed the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Rep. Susan DelBene of Washington. This report will be published on Friday.

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