Johnson warns of 'chaos' and France preview as Dems sweep House

Voters across the nation delivered a decisive rebuke to the Republican Party on Tuesday, electing Democrats to a majority in both chambers of Congress. The Associated Press reports that Democrats have won control of the U.S. House of Representatives, ending the Republican hold on the chamber. This result follows a wave of Democratic victories in states that were long considered reliably Republican, including Texas, Kansas, and South Carolina. In California, where polls were open from 7 a.m. To 8 p.m., Democrat Xavier Becerra cruised to victory in the race for governor. The state did not have a U.S. Senate race on the ballot this cycle.

Speaker Mike Johnson, who has led the House for three years, spent the final week of the campaign warning voters about the consequences of a Democratic takeover. In an op-ed published in USA Today on October 30, Johnson argued that the Democratic Party had bent the knee to its far-left wing. He wrote that even a narrow Democratic House would be held hostage by the Democratic Socialists of America, or DSA. Johnson pointed to France as a dark harbinger of what could happen in the United States if that trend continued. He described violent riots, smashed buildings, and looted shops in France as the result of decades of misguided policy choices, including lax immigration and suffocating regulation.

Johnson’s warnings extended to the domestic political landscape as well. During an interview on The Ingraham Angle on Fox News, he predicted that a Democratic-controlled Congress would bring chaos every day for two years. He noted that in the previous election, ten House races were decided by six thousand votes or less, emphasizing that every single vote would matter in the new session. He stated that turning the keys over to angry Democrats would mean they would go after retribution for President Trump and his administration. He added that they would try to open the borders wide and repeal the Working Families Tax Cut.

The Speaker also referenced the views of veteran Democratic strategist James Carville in his op-ed. Johnson noted that Carville admitted he would rather Republicans keep the House than see Democrats win it by a margin of five, because the party would be hostage to the DSA. Johnson agreed with this assessment, arguing that party leaders were making room for socialist candidates in their big tent. He warned that a Democratic victory would inevitably cede unprecedented power to this growing cadre, whose stated aim is to remake the party and end the free market system.

Despite the looming defeat, the House Republican majority emphasized its record of accomplishments during the 119th Congress. In a statement released to mark the third anniversary of Johnson’s speakership, party leaders highlighted the delivery of $4.6 trillion in lower taxes, described as the largest middle and working-class tax cut in history. They also cited a $1.6 trillion reduction in wasteful government spending and the securing of the border. The group noted that more than one million private sector jobs were added to the economy, and that the House achieved the lowest violent crime rate in 126 years.

Johnson defended the party’s ability to deliver results despite having one of the smallest House majorities in history. He pointed to the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, which protected families from tax hikes and expanded the Child Tax Credit. He also highlighted the creation of Trump Accounts, which provide investment accounts for children born between 2025 and 2028. The Speaker noted that Republicans delivered these historic results even while Democrats forced three government shutdowns, including the longest in U.S. History, according to his op-ed.

Conservative leaders offered their own praise for the Speaker’s leadership during this critical period. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich described Johnson as possessing extraordinary patience and discipline, noting that he created a record for legislative effectiveness that is historic. Kevin Roberts, president of The Heritage Foundation, said that Johnson has repeatedly delivered consequential conservative policy victories through some of the slimmest congressional majorities. Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, praised Johnson for successfully making pro-growth tax cuts permanent, a task that previous Republican majorities had failed to complete.

Johnson campaigned heavily in the final days, traveling to more than 40 districts across 22 states in October. He framed the election as a choice between common sense and crazy, telling voters on Fox and Friends that they were looking at a contrast election. He argued that voters understand that Republicans delivered on their promises in 2024 by bringing down costs and cutting taxes. He contrasted this with the Democratic platform, which he said includes abolishing borders, abolishing prisons, and defunding the police. He described the new Democratic bloc as even further left than the previous progressive group, calling it a taste of what is to come.

The AP Voter Poll found the electorate deeply unhappy with the country’s direction, with about three-quarters of voters feeling angry or dissatisfied. This dissatisfaction was particularly high in blue states like California, where Becerra won the governor’s race. The poll found that three-quarters of voters said the economy is not so good or poor, and about eight in ten said inflation has caused financial hardship. These findings align with the themes Johnson used to rally support, emphasizing the contrast between the Republican record of tax cuts and the Democratic vision of expanded government spending.