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Democratic strategist James Carville said during an interview on Sunday that he would rather the Republicans win by five seats in the House of Representatives in the midterm elections than the Democrats win by the same number, worrying that the Democratic Party would become “hostages” to the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
While speaking to “The Bulwark Takes,” Carville provided his midterm election predictions, and said he would be disappointed if Democrats won by a slim margin.
“I would be disappointed if it comes in at 225 House seats. And that would almost be — I would rather the Republicans keep the House by five than the Democrats win by five because if that happens, they’re hostage to the DSA,” Carville said. “Like Hakeem cannot move. There’s no place for him to go. Even if you have a close Senate, Fetterman would keep Schumer [on] Pepto-Bismol all night. So, I think this is one of these races where margin matters a lot.”
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“Winning big is almost as big as winning, which is weird but it’s a nightmare at 225,” he added.
James Carville speaks onstage during Election Night Live With Brian Williams at Amazon Studios on Nov. 5, 2024, in Culver City, California. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Amazon Studios)
Bill Kristol, the host of “The Bulwark Takes,” pushed back and said that was “a lower bound” for Democrats in the House.
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Moderate Democratic strategist Kaivan Shroff pushed back on Carville’s assertion in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“I do think we have seen DSA figures overexploit their leverage to the point of sabotaging actual progress. One need look no further than the upcoming 10-year anniversary of Secretary Clinton losing to Donald Trump to find the data behind that claim. So I understand the concern, but Carville is absolutely wrong here and does a disservice to the vast majority of Democrats who absolutely want Democrats to win back the House and Senate, by any margin possible, to finally have a check on Trump’s radically anti-democratic agenda and the widespread corruption in his administration,” he said.
Shroff continued, “To suggest otherwise gives fodder to figures like Hasan Piker who claims Democrats are more against their farther left flank than MAGA — which is simply untrue. But when a figure like Carville makes this sort of statement, it goes viral and actually dissuades leftists in our big tent from even showing up. So it’s an irresponsible line from him.”
He argued that losing the House majority by five seats, as Carville suggested, was not the way to overcome the DSA’s leverage.
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Members of the Democratic Socialists of America gather outside a Trump-owned building on May Day, May 1, 2019, in New York City. (Getty Images)
Carville also offered a behind-the-curtain take about the Democratic Party.
“El-Sayed had AOC campaign with him on the upper peninsula,” he said. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
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“They had five progressive Democrats on the upper peninsula of Michigan,” Carville continued to say. “What they’re lining up to say is, ‘You see that the moderate — the Clinton Democrats, like Carville, said they can only — all the DSA can win is in hardcore urban areas.’ We have showed you that the people all over the country are waiting to be the sound of true progressivism.”
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He said that progressives, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., are setting themselves up to say that the progressive agenda could succeed anywhere in the country.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Michigan Democratic candidate for Senate Abdul El-Sayed and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., greet the crowd after El-Sayed spoke at The People V. The Powerful rally at the Detroit Opera House on July 18, 2026, in Detroit, Michigan. (Sarah Rice/Getty Images)
“It’s not. But it’s not going to stop them from saying it. Trust me, that’s what they’re going to say,” he said.
Democrats are projected to take back control of the House and the Senate.
The latest Power Rankings in the Senate point to Democrats and Republicans each taking 47 seats in the midterms, leaving six races rated as true toss-ups. Additionally, three races are rated as leaners — one step shy of a toss-up. These nine showdowns will likely determine whether the Democrats make a net gain of four seats to win control of the Senate or if the GOP holds the majority.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
