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Paul Ryan Predicts House To Stay In Republican Control, Even If Donald Trump Is Nominee
12/23/2015   By Matt Fuller | The Huffington Post
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Alex Wong via Getty Images
 

Save one brief Donald Trump policy denouncement, Speaker Paul Ryan has made a point to stay out of the day-to-day 2016 news.

The Wisconsin Republican notes that, as speaker, he’s actually the chairman of the GOP convention, and he’s repeatedly told reporters that he’s not going to weigh in on every Republican primary poll -- or any of them at all.

But Ryan is not shying away from one electoral prediction: No matter who Republicans put atop their ticket, Ryan says, House Republicans will keep the majority.

“No I feel very confident about that,” Ryan told a handful of reporters gathered in his office late last week.

Even when he was specifically asked about one particular Republican winning the nomination -- cough Donald Trump cough -- Ryan suggested control of the House didn’t depend on a particular person carrying the ticket.

“Whoever our nominee is going to be, House members are very close to their constituents,” Ryan said. “Our members are very gifted people who know how to get elected in difficult climates, no matter what they are."

Ryan didn't specify whether Donald Trump could be a cause of that "difficult climate" or whether he was speaking more generally, but either way, he suggested it wouldn't be an issue. “I think we’re going to have a good climate," he said.

Ryan contended that eight years of President Barack Obama’s progressive policies had produced “miserable results,” and he didn’t think voters were going to want “more of the same.”

Of course, not every voter shares Ryan’s less than charitable assessment of Obama’s effect on the country, but the new speaker is sure to find plenty of people who agree that House Republicans aren't going to lose the majority in 2016.

Currently, there are 246 Republicans in the House and 188 Democrats, with one vacancy after former Speaker John Boehner's retirement. Boehner's Ohio district is expected to stay Republican in a special election set for June. Therefore, to flip the House, Democrats would need to pick up 30 seats -- an extraordinarily unlikely task.

But it's not impossible, not when the party winning the White House has picked up House seats in 11 of the last 15 presidential election years and Obama won in 209 congressional districts in 2012. Split-ticket voters, we'll also note, are at historic lows.

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