NLBMDA Analysis: 'So much for the red wave'
With President Joe Biden’s approval ratings slumping and many of his policies under attack, including the situation at the southern U.S. border, elevated gas prices, inflation, high crime rates in major urban centers, the expectations for the 2022 mid-term elections were a big victory for Republican candidates across the nation.
That didn’t happen, though.
Sitting presidents typically lose about 25 seats in the House of Representatives during mid-term elections. Democrats only lost 9 seats in the house, however; a far cry from what republican leaders were calling for.
"So much for the red wave," aid Jacob Carter, NLBMDA director of government affairs.
But the Republicans will have control of the House for the first time since the 115th Congress in 2017.
House minority leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), expected to be elected Speaker of the House in the 118th Congress in January 2023, projected as double-digit victories that would result in Republicans flipping the House.
“But that was a red wave that never quite came,” Carter said.
In the Senate, Democrats flipped one seat as Republicans flipped none.
Carter described mid-term election results as “a massive blow to the Republican agenda.”
Following the election, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced she would be stepping down. Pelosi has served as the Speaker since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011.
While McCarthy appears to be the favorite to become the next Speaker of the House, Carter noted that the Republican Party is not completely unified behind him.
When it came to the Senate, Carter said the Republican 2022 candidates “were not as strong as they could have been.”
“Candidates are everything,” said Jonathan Paine, president and CEO of the NLBMDA.
Looking at priorities on its agenda, the NLBMDA said it will continue to push for the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act.
This is a key priority for the lumber and building materials industry, the NLBMDA said. The legislation would build and preserve more than two million housing units over the next decade by providing a 50% increase in allocations for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and boosting the number of affordable housing projects that can be built using private activity bonds.
Another top priority for the NLBMDA might already be off the board following the aversion of a major rail worker strike slated for Dec. 9. The strike would have cost the U.S. economy $2 billion per day while crushing domestic supply chain efforts.
On Dec. 2, the Senate approved a House-passed resolution (H.J.Res.100) that forces rail labor unions to accept a contract that was previously negotiated with railroad companies in September.
