Reporter's Notebook: House math turns tricky as Greene resignation tightens GOP grip on power
It’s about the math.And the math in the House of Representatives got much more interesting Friday night when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., announced she would resign in January.The current...
By Fox News · Fox News
It’s about the math. And the math in the House of Representatives got much more interesting Friday night when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., announced she would resign in January. The current breakdown in the House is 219-213 in favor of Republicans with three vacancies: Former Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., retired. The late Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, died. Former Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., resigned late last week after voters elected her governor of New Jersey. The House finally swore in Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., six weeks after she prevailed in her special election in September to succeed her late father. Late Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., died earlier this year. The six-seat margin means that the GOP can only lose two votes on the floor and still pass a bill without help from the Democrats. HEADED FOR THE EXITS: WHY 3-DOZEN HOUSE MEMBERS AREN'T RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION But the math in the coming weeks and months quickly gets dicey for the GOP. Greene does not step aside until Jan. 5. So let’s run through the numbers and permutations which could evolve over the next few months. There’s a special election in Tennessee to succeed former House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green on Dec. 2. President Donald Trump carried the district by 22 points last fall. Green bested his opponent – former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, a Democrat, by 21 points. So Republicans are expected to hold this seat. But there is something important to know about special elections: they’re special. They sometimes produce weird results because the usual voting electorate doesn’t show up. Plus, surges by one party or the other in a special election held in either a deeply blue or ruby red district sometimes signals a boost for the party. Strong performances or even upsets sometimes portend what’s ahead in the next election. They also signal a referendum on the President. For instance, in 2017, Democrats were competitive in four GOP seats of House members who departed to…