U.S. House a Republican Lock; U.S. Senate, Not So Much

Over the next 72 hours or so, I’ll be sharing my Election Day thoughts, including previews and postgame wrap-up.

The U.S. House 

There was a point in time about a month ago where a flip of control of the U.S. House seemed possible. But now it’s a virtual lock that the GOP will stay in control of the House.  Intrade.com has the chances at 96 percent of the House remaining in GOP control. If the president gets re-elected, that legislative firewall stays in place. I believe Mitt Romney’s first debate performance and his campaign throughout October is the leading factor. A firewall offers some protection (no more bad legislation and the opportunity for congressional oversight on agency actions) to job creators, but would still leave in place the worst elements inside agencies like the EPA and NLRB.

The U.S. Senate

On the Senate side, what looked early on like a free throw to gain control of the Senate quickly turned into a half-court shot scenario for Republicans. GOP nominees Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock not only frittered away their chance at a US Senate seat, but also caused an election that should have been about an economy crawling along and 40-straight months of 8 percent or higher unemployment to instead get hijacked by a series of outrageous and offensive comments. It’s undisciplined gaffes like these that should cause both parties should think long and hard about their 2014 candidate recruitment efforts. No one wants scripted automatons running for office, but candidates should engage their brains before they decide to wax philosophical about divisive issues.  

Glenn Hamer is the president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry