DeSantis calls Republican losses close to an extinction-level event

Sky News reported that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described Republican election losses as close to an extinction-level event for the party in many parts of the country. In the Sky News broadcast, he said that when officials leave office in January, only Florida among the 10 largest states will have Republican control of state government.

Sky News reported DeSantis saying that Texas had lost a highly publicised Senate race, the governor's office, the attorney general and other statewide posts, as well as four Republican Supreme Court justices. He warned that Republicans might also lose the Texas legislature, and said the damage could reverberate for a decade or more if the party lost Texas as a national anchor.

Sky News reported his assessment that Democrats would likely enter January with 56 Senate seats and as many as 258 House seats, giving them control of both chambers. DeSantis warned that this would shape the next two years and beyond, saying no Supreme Court justice would be confirmed under President Trump unless something changed in the next six weeks and that major conservative cabinet officials would struggle to be confirmed.

In the same Sky News broadcast, DeSantis looked to 2028 and said Republicans would not be able to retake the Senate under the current map in two years and would probably not be viable in the House either. He said it could take two, four or six years, or longer, before Republicans could again exercise unified control in Washington.

Sky News reported DeSantis presenting Florida as the exception, saying a record of achievement and voter trust helped Republicans hold the line against a national wave. He said Democrats were unpopular and had won on sentiment rather than a mandate, and that the result was a rejection of Republicans in Washington. He also said rebuilding would take more than one election cycle.