Scalise stresses voter turnout: ‘We can hold the House’

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) on Wednesday stressed that Republicans could hold on to their control of the House if there’s strong voter turnout on Election Day.

NewsNation’s Katie Pavlich asked Scalise if he was preparing for a Democrat-led House that would look to investigate President Trump and his family or impeach Trump for a third time between his two terms.

“Katie, we know this, and that is number one, there are a lot of close races right now, and if good people stay home, socialists can absolutely win some of these seats,” Scalise said during an appearance on “Katie Pavlich Tonight.”

“And that’s why the biggest thing we’re doing right now is encouraging people to turn out and vote, because if folks that normally sit out of midterm actually show up and vote this time around, we can hold the House,” he continued.

Scalise added that if “good people stay at home, you’re seeing these crazy far-left socialist candidates –– they hate President Trump. They vowed retribution. They want to go after the president, go after his family.”

Pavlich noted that the odds of the GOP keeping a lock on the House were “razor-thin,” and she asked if the Louisiana Republican was looking at any of the toss-up races that could determine which party controls the lower chamber.

The lawmaker said these races could be wins for Republicans “if folks show up.”

Pollster Nate Silver said Sunday that midterm polling “ would have to be very wrong ” for the GOP to hold their control of the House, explaining that the tougher battle for Democrats would be winning states won by Trump in 2024 to attain control of the Senate.

Polling firms have largely leaned toward a likely Democratic victory in the House, an outcome The Hill’s election partner Decision Desk HQ projects with 80 percent probability.

This potential outcome will likely stand as a referendum on Trump’s first two years back in the White House, similar to most midterm election results when the opposing party takes control of one or both chambers of Congress.

Trump has also encouraged high turnout, urging GOP voters to “pretend” he’s on the ballot. The president has touted his administration’s successes while out stumping for candidates across the country in recent weeks, but consistent polling has shown growing dissatisfaction with his handling of the presidency and not prioritizing issues like the economy and the cost of living.

Midterm elections generally see a lower voter turnout compared with years when there’s a presidential election. The 2020 and 2024 presidential elections saw some of the highest turnout of voters in the last century, with rates at 66 and 64 percent, respectively, according to the Pew Research Center .

The 2018 and 2022 midterm cycles, however, saw turnout of less than 50 percent, specifically at 49 percent and 46 percent, respectively, Pew reported . But the 2018 midterms saw the highest turnout rate since 1914, and 2022’s turnout exceeded that of any midterm since 1970.