RNC chair pushes back after Carville predicts GOP ‘wipeout’ in 2026 midterms

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RNC chair pushes back after Carville predicts GOP ‘wipeout’ in 2026 midterms

RNC chair says Trump is Republicans’ ‘secret weapon’ to defy midterm history

Madison Colombo Fox News

Published

January 17, 2026 4:35pm EST

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James Carville predicts 2026 midterm elections will be a ‘wipeout’ win for Democrats

Democratic strategist James Carville discusses California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s comments on transgender issues, President Donald Trump’s leadership and the 2026 midterm elections on ‘Saturday in America.’

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Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville predicted a political "wipeout" for Republicans in the 2026 midterm election.

Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters rejected the forecast and said Republicans can defy history and retain control of both chambers.

Carville argued Democrats could pick up dozens of seats in the House and would likely regain control of the Senate. Some Democratic strategists are warning that the party faces serious long-term challenges, particularly beyond the next election cycle.

"I'm looking at the 2026 elections, and frankly, it's going to be a wipeout," Carville said on "Saturday in America."

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James Carville appears on the left and RNC Chairman Joe Gruters appears on the right in a side-by-side image.

James Carville suggested Democrats could gain between 25 and 45 House seats, while RNC Chair Joe Gruters disputed that forecast. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images; David Dee Delgado/Getty Images for The New York Times)

"The Democrats are going to pick up at a minimum 25 seats — maybe as high as 45. In all likelihood, the Democrats will carry the Senate," he told Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany.

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Gruters pushed back on the prediction, arguing that signs point to Republicans retaining control of both chambers of Congress. He acknowledged the historical midterm disadvantage for the party in power, but said Republicans are positioned to "defy history."

"Our secret weapon is President Trump," Gruters said on "Saturday in America" in a separate segment.

President Donald Trump takes a question from a reporter while seated in the Oval Office.

President Donald Trump takes a question from a reporter in the Oval Office at the White House on May 5, 2025. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

"He’s accomplished more in this first 12 months than most presidents accomplished in eight years," he added.

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Carville’s comments were made in response to a New York Times opinion essay from veteran Democratic strategist David Plouffe, a former senior advisor to President Barack Obama, who argued that the party is "still in crisis."

"Right now, Democrats have no credible path to sustained control of the Senate and the White House," Plouffe wrote in a guest essay published Jan. 15.

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He warned that changes to the Electoral College could further complicate Democrats’ future prospects.

"After the adjustments to the Electoral College map that look likely to come with the next census, the Democratic presidential nominee could win all the states won by Kamala Harris plus the blue wall of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and still fall short of the 270 electoral votes needed to win," Plouffe added.

RNC chair calls Trump a ‘secret weapon’ ahead of 2026 midterm elections

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Madison is a writer for Fox News Digital on the Flash team.

RNC chair pushes back after Carville predicts GOP ‘wipeout’ in 2026 midterms