Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned that the midterm results were "close to an extinction-level event for Republicans," according to WND.
DeSantis spoke at a news conference at the state Capitol in Tallahassee. "We just have to be very clear-eyed. This is probably the worst-case scenario for a midterm election," he said.
"This is close to an extinction-level event for Republicans in many parts of the country as we have seen probably in the last hundred years," he added. He also called the results "the political equivalent of a meteor strike," the Miami Herald reported.
DeSantis warned that the damage would last "far beyond just two years." He said Republicans would not be able to retake the Senate under the current map in 2028, and probably not the House either.
"So this is really gonna have an impact two years, four years, six years, maybe even longer before Republicans can exercise unified control in Washington again," he said. With Democrats taking the Senate, DeSantis said no Supreme Court justice would be confirmed under President Donald Trump "unless something happens in the next six weeks."
Florida was a rare bright spot for the GOP. Rep. Byron Donalds won the governor's race and Sen. Ashley Moody held her seat, and DeSantis noted that Florida is the only one of the 10 largest states that will remain under Republican control.
"We've earned trust from a number of our voters that even in the worst situation that you can imagine politically, we were able to hold the line," DeSantis said. "But just be clear. We're in a deep hole nationally."
He credited Amendment 3, the property tax measure, with driving Republican turnout. Still, Democrats flipped 17 state legislative seats in Florida, breaking the GOP supermajority, according to the Miami Herald.
DeSantis argued that voters were rejecting Republicans in Washington rather than embracing Democrats. "They did not earn a mandate to indulge all their left-wing fantasies," he said.
He singled out Texas, which he called "the crown jewel of Republican politics," where Democrats won the Senate race, the governorship and other statewide offices. "If the Republican Party doesn't have Texas as an anchor, then we are not going to be viable nationally going forward," DeSantis said.
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