Democrats are "scared to death right now" over what it will mean for their party's chances if Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin pulls out a win in the blue state over Democrat Terry McAuliffe, Rep. James Comer said on Newsmax Tuesday.
"If he wins this election, and you talk about the Democrats going in disarray in the House, you haven't seen anything yet," the Kentucky Republican said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "They realize that if a Republican can win in Virginia, then a Republican can win in just about any swing district in America next year in the midterm."
Comer added that he doesn't know how the race will affect the momentum of the bipartisan infrastructure bill and President Joe Biden's "Build Back Better" funding bill, but he does know Democrats are "definitely watching" the Virginia election results.
Meanwhile, the infrastructure and spending bills are both "dead in the water," especially after Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., made it clear that he "is not going to vote for that budget reconciliation bill."
"He said that they had a lot of work to do and they could come back," said Comer. "He wanted it scored and he mentioned all these great Republican talking points as to why that's a bad deal."
Further, Arizona Democrat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is "right there with him," said Comer, "so there's zero chance that bill is going to pass the Senate now."
Manchin also said he expects the House to vote on the infrastructure bill, but Comer said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi doesn't have the votes to pass it.
"The Republicans aren't going to vote for that bill until she disconnects the infrastructure bill from the budget reconciliation bill," said Comer. "So, as of this moment in time, with all this drama going on in Washington, I think it's safe to say both bills are dead on arrival."
Meanwhile, the bill's death will be the "final blow" to Biden's presidency and his potential of having any type of accomplishment from a legislative standpoint.
"The Democrats realized that he's not a strong leader," he said. "They realized that all of his policies are very unpopular with the American people. This is the one piece of legislation that Joe Biden has banked his whole presidency on, this ridiculous, unnecessary budget reconciliation bill."
Comer, meanwhile, acknowledged the infrastructure bill is more popular among Americans, but he won't be voting for it.
"If they saw what I was in this infrastructure bill, I don't think they would be very excited about it," he said. "That's why I'm a no vote, even if we just vote on the infrastructure bill ... Pelosi thought she was being cute, tying those two bills together, but at the end of the day, I think she doomed both bills by doing that. So I think the budget reconciliation bill whether it passes or not, Republicans are going to use that against Democrats in the midterms."
Note: See Newsmax TV now carried in more than 100 million U.S. homes, on DirecTV Ch. 349, Dish Network Ch. 216, Xfinity Ch. 1115, Spectrum, U-verse Ch. 1220, FiOS Ch. 615, Frontier Ch. 115, Optimum Ch. 102, Cox cable, Suddenlink Ch. 102, Mediacom Ch. 277, AT&T TV Ch 349, FUBO and major OTT platforms like Roku, YouTube, Xumo, Pluto and most smart TV’s including Samsung+, Sony, LG, Vizio and more – Find All Systems that Carry Newsmax – Click Here
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.