GOP looks to end civil war

WASHINGTON—House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., dropped any reservations he previously held about the presidency of Donald Trump or the GOP’s future, calling Election Day an incredible victory.

“It marks a repudiation of the status quo of failed liberal progressive policies,” Ryan said. “We are eager to work hand-in-hand with the new administration to advance an agenda to improve the lives of the American people. This has been a great night for our party, and now we must turn our focus to bringing the country together.”

Ryan said in Janesville, Wis., that Trump heard a voice in this country no one else did, and he will lead “a unified Republican government.”

Just a month ago, amid the fallout from a leaked video depicting Trump bragging about sexual assault, Ryan told his Republican conference, 246 members strong, to do what they had to do to keep their seats.

All across the country, House Republicans turned on Trump, expecting any association with him to hurt their chances of reelection. And Democrats thought they had a chance to snag dozens of toss-up races. In the end, Republicans lost fewer than eight seats as Trump’s upset victory instead lifted down-ballot races across the board.

Several incumbent Republicans who distanced themselves from Trump during the campaign indicated after his victory they were ready to move on as one party.

Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah, struggled early against Democrat Doug Owens, as some feared Trump would enable low voter turnout in the conservative state. Throughout her campaign, Love, Congress’ first African-American woman in the Republican conference, never endorsed Trump and told her voters to look past the top of the ticket on Election Day.

“When I said no matter what happens in the White House, we need a check and balance in the House, Utahns showed up,” she said in her victory speech early this morning, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. “I have never been more proud of this state and the United States of America than I am today.”

In California, Democrats heavily targeted GOP Rep. Steve Knight, another Trump holdout, but he, too, was able to prevail. No Democrat has held Knight’s 25th district in 50 years, but new registration numbers showed Republicans were slowly becoming outnumbered. Two Democratic groups alone spent $4.7 million to defeat Knight—paying for multiple expensive attack ads. Knight never said he would support Trump, but indicated he would still cast a presidential ballot. His opponent, Bryan Caforio, used Knight’s vague stance to berate him.

“It’s been a horrible race,” Knight said after he won, according to Southern California Public Radio. “This is not how politics should be in America. Politics should be about what you are going to do for the folks in the district, not how you can tear someone else down. I’m hoping after the rigmarole of this election, we can get back to that.”

Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, and Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., also won reelection in vulnerable districts. Both took Ryan’s advice and quit talking about Trump and focused on selling themselves to voters.

Overall, Democrats underperformed, but were able to edge out Republicans in a few competitive races. Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist was able to resurrect his political career by defeating Rep. David Jolly, R-Fla. Twelve-term Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., also lost in a close race to 38-year-old Democratic rookie Stephanie Murphy. And in New Jersey, GOP Rep. Scott Garrett was unable to overcome earlier comments about gay candidates and lost to Democrat Josh Gottheimer.

Republicans retained at least 238 of their seats with several elections still too close to call. The GOP will enter 2017 with control of the White House, Senate, and House for the first time since 2005.