Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called Tuesday’s results “close to an extinction-level event” for Republicans.
He said the losses in the Senate will make it difficult for Republicans to retake the Senate in two years and said the House is likely out of reach, too.
“This is probably the political worst-case scenario for a midterm election,” the Republican governor said.
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Mr. DeSantis, who challenged President Trump for the GOP nomination in 2024 and is seen as a possible rallying point for Republicans looking to 2028, said his state defied the wave.
Florida elected a Republican governor and a Republican senator.
He said the state is the only one of the top 10 most populous states to still have GOP control.
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Mr. DeSantis contrasted his state with the results in Texas, which like Florida has been in the vanguard of Republican politics this century. Gov. Greg Abbott lost his bid for a fourth term, the state’s U.S. Senate seat flipped, and the losses even reached the state’s Supreme Court.
Mr. DeSantis said the loss of Texas is brutal.
“If the Republican Party doesn’t have Texas as an anchor, then we are not going to be viable nationally going forward,” he said.
Policywise, he said the flips in the Senate will mean no conservative Supreme Court justice can get confirmed.
“I think the chance of confirming somebody is zero over the next two years,” he said.
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