Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her top lieutenants had a stark warning for Democrats Thursday: swing too far left and they’re all but certain to blow their chances in the Georgia runoff that will determine which party controls the Senate.
Congressional Democrats are collectively pinning their hopes on a pair of Senate races in January in one of the most competitive states in the nation — an outcome that could determine whether Democrats hold all levers of power in Washington next year, despite a disappointing night on Tuesday. While Joe Biden is looking likely to win the presidency, Democrats were shut out of key Senate races, dashing their hopes of reclaiming control of the chamber, and lost ground in the House despite being expected to significantly expand their majority.
When the next Congress convenes in January, Republicans look favored to carry a narrow majority into the Georgia runoff, with undeclared races in Alaska and North Carolina leaning in their favor. But if Democrats were able to win both Georgia Senate seats — a longshot to say the least — they would secure control of the chamber with a Biden White House as the tie breaker.https://636d94a71bc762afb4cc9ff03b7de783.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html
If “we are going to run on Medicare for All, defund the police, socialized medicine, we’re not going to win,” House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) warned on the caucus call, according to three people listening.
The Democrats’ warning comes as lawmakers try to assign blame over their election night losses, with progressives’ ambitions beginning to emerge as a top target which could hinder left-leaning policies from advancing in the House.
Pelosi also had her own message to House Democrats, telling them to focus on an “agenda of lowering health care, better paychecks, building infrastructure.” While she didn’t explicitly say it, those ideas are more likely to be appealing to moderate Georgia voters who will decide the fate of the Senate in January.
The next two months leading up to the Jan. 5 run-off will be “fraught with meaning” Pelosi added.
“This has been a life or death fight for thevery fate of our democracy. We did not win every battle but we did win the war,” Pelosi said on the call. “We held the House. Joe Biden is on a clear path to be the next president of the United States.”
In the hotly contested Georgia races, GOP Sen. David Perdue is expected to face off against Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff and GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler will take on Democratic candidate Raphael Warnock.
Democrats and Republicans in Congress will likely spend those two months battling over a massive coronavirus stimulus package — which has already divided both parties for months — as well as the presidential transition and a potentially seismic Supreme Court decision on the fate of Obamacare.
The comments from Pelosi and Clyburn echo many private conversations that have taken place among members and top aides in the last 48 hours, with moderate Democrats and even some left-leaning members arguing that GOP attacks on “socialism” and “law and order” cost their party support in Trump country.
