Mid-Term Election Results

20.01.2023

Members of the new Congress, the 118th, were elected last November 8 and were sworn in on January 3. The Republicans wrested control of the House of Representatives from the Democrats with a majority of 222-212, with one temporary vacancy. That majority, albeit narrow, allows the Republicans to take over House committees, exert control over spending bills, investigate alleged wrongdoing and block some pro-abortion Democrat bills. 

Pro-life Kevin McCarthy (Republican-California) is the new Speaker of the House; he succeeds pro-abortion Nancy Pelosi (Democrat-California). McCarthy is a Southern Baptist. The Democrats kept control of the Senate; they have a coalition of 48 Democrats and three Independents who caucus with them. The Republicans have 48 seats, and there is one vacancy. Pro-abortion extremist Chuck Schumer (Democrat-New York) remains the Senate Majority Leader. Mitch McConnell (Republican-Kentucky) remains Senate Minority Leader.

Pro-Life Not at Fault 

Immediately after the election, the pro-abortion Democrats and their pro-abortion allies in the news media crowed that being pro-life was why the Republicans did not perform better. In reality, though, the national Republican Party spent just $10 million on pro-life messages but Planned Parenthood and other major pro-abortion donors spent $450 million specifically on pro-abortion messages packed with deceptions and with smears of the pro-life movement. 

Pro-lifers point out that being pro-life was an advantage for candidates overall; for example, every Republican state governor who signed pro-life bills into law won re-election— among them, strongly pro-life Governor Ron DeSantis in Florida. As reporter John Gizzi noted: 

No fewer than 12 strongly pro-life Republican governors were elected and not a single one was unseated, namely Kay Ivey of Alabama, Ron DeSantis of Florida, Brian Kemp of Georgia, Brad Little of Idaho, Kim Reynolds of Iowa, Mike DeWine of Ohio, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Henry McMaster of South Carolina, Kristi Noem of North Dakota, Bill Lee of Tennessee, Greg Abbott of Texas and Mark Gordon of Wyoming. In addition, underdog pro-life JD Vance won a hotly contested US Senate seat for Ohio.