Dems score string of upsets on way to winning House
Source: NBC News
By Rebecca Shabad and Elisha Fieldstadt
A string of upsets, particularly spurred by suburban voters and a spike in voter enthusiasm, propelled Democrats to reclaim a majority in the House on Tuesday, heralding a new era of divided government in the nation's capital.
By 6:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, the party had picked up 28 seats in the House, more than the 23 needed to take the majority, disrupting the Republican power-hold on Washington, which will likely lead to a influx of investigations into the Trump administration that could stymie the president in the lead up to 2020. Several West Coast results were still outstanding Wednesday morning.
The first big pick-up for Democrats came early, when NBC News projected that incumbent GOP Rep. Barbara Comstock, R-Va., would lose her House seat in that state's 10th Congressional District to Democrat Jennifer Wexton. The race, in a suburban northern Virginia district Hillary Clinton won by 10 percentage points in 2016, had been regarded by many observers as critical to Republican hopes of maintaining control of the lower chamber.
Also in Virginia, GOP Rep. Dave Brat, who defeated former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a major upset in a 2014 primary, lost Tuesday to Democrat Abigail Spanberger.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/2018-house-election-results-n931416
