On Nov. 4, 2014, Americans went to the polls to decide what direction the country would take over the next two years. When the votes were counted, a strong message was sent to those in Washington that the status quo was no longer acceptable.
The next Congress—the 114th in the history of the United States—will have a considerably different makeup than the 113th. By giving Republicans control of the Senate and by adding to the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, voters made clear their discontent with the current state of politics. Tired of gridlock on key issues like the economy and jobs, voters demanded better results from the legislative branch of government.
For the private club industry, those results bode well leading into 2015. Not only does it mean more pro-club initiatives are likely to pass, but it also means a more business-friendly environment in Congress that will help individual club members succeed, as well.
Results in the Senate From the start of 2014, the focus of the elections was squarely on control of the U.S. Senate. Before the elections, Democrats controlled the chamber with a 55-45 majority; however, the conventional wisdom was Republicans would wrest control from the Democrats when election night was over. To do that, they needed a net gain of six seats.
Interestingly, even history was against the Democrats this year. Since 1914, every mid-term election of a president’s second term has provided the party not in the White House with an average pickup of six seats. As such, it seemed that Republicans were finally poised to do what they had hoped to do in 2010 and 2012.
With Democrats defending 21 seats and Republicans only defending 14 seats, the chips were certainly stacked against the majority party. To make matters worse, three Democratic incumbents serving in red states decided to retire. By so doing, the races in Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia were lost before the first votes were counted. That meant Republicans were only three wins away from a change in the Senate majority.
Of course, Republicans had some of their own concerns. There was a seat in Georgia that polls suggested was well within the grasp of a Democrat. In addition, there were two other races that were truly toss-ups for most of the election season—Kansas and Kentucky. And, of course, there was the possibility that one or more of their candidates would simply implode with a gaffe that had doomed their chances at a majority for the last two election cycles.
In the end though, not only did the Republicans win those three open Democratic seats, but they also preserved their seats in Georgia, Kansas and Kentucky and won four hotly contested races held by Democratic incumbents.
Those four hotly contested races (in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado and North Carolina) showed just how complete the Republican victory was. Though the Alaska and Arkansas races were expected to go to the Republicans, the other two races were held in states that had voted for President Obama and had a very purple tint to them.
The Republicans’ final victory came in a race for the seat being vacated by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), a 30-year incumbent who decided to retire thinking his seat would be safe. The victory in the Hawkeye State allowed Republicans to secure a net gain of eight seats and finally realize their goal of changing control of the U.S. Senate.
Republicans gained control of the Senate for the first time since the end of 2006 and they did not lose any incumbent senator who ran for re-election or any seat left vacant by a retiring Republican. The final balance of power is 54 Republicans – 46 Democrats.
With the resounding win, Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.) was re-elected as leader of the Senate Republicans and will assume the post of Majority Leader in January. Sen. John Cornyn (Texas) was re-elected to the number two post, Majority Whip, and Sen. John Thune (S.D.) was re-elected to the number three post, Republican Senate Conference Chair.
Even though they lost their majority, Senate Democrats did not feel the need to make any changes to their elected leadership team. Therefore, Sen. Harry Reid (Nev.) will serve as the Minority Leader, Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.) will stay as the Minority Whip and Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.) will remain as the Democratic Policy Committee Chairman.
For our industry, this change in Senate majority means there will be a much more sympathetic upper chamber of Congress to work with over the next two years. There have been numerous bills that would greatly assist the private club industry that were never given a vote in the Senate. Now, those bills (and many more pro-club initiatives) will get that vote— something we have not had in many years.
Results in the House of Representatives With the entire country focused on the race to control the U.S. Senate, there was little attention paid to the races in the House of Representatives. However, when the dust settled on Nov. 4 the House results were almost as important for the private club industry as the change in control of the Senate.
Since 1860, every mid-term election in a president’s second term has provided the party not in the White House with an increase in seats. This election was no different. Before Election Day, Republicans held a 234-201 majority. At the end of the evening on Nov. 4, Republicans had increased their majority to the largest it has been since 1947, with three races still undecided. In those remaining races, Republicans are favored in all three of them. Should those Republicans win, they will have more seats in the House than they have had since 1929.
In total, Republicans flipped 15 seats while the Democrats only flipped three. The extent of the Republican wave reached all corners of the country. They won three seats in the South, five seats in the Northeast, four seats in the Midwest (including beating a 38-year incumbent in W. Va.), one in the Southwest and two in the West (including beating a freshman serving a majority-minority district in Nev.). For Democrats, their three victories came in California, Florida and Nebraska. Thus, the final balance of power is 246 Republicans – 188 Democrats, with the three races still uncalled.
Having maintained control, the GOP leadership team was easily re-elected by their fellow Republicans. Rep. John Boehner (Ohio) was re-elected the party’s choice to be Speaker of the House. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) was re-elected Majority Leader and Rep. Steve Scalise (La.) was re-elected as Majority Whip.
Like the Democratic members of the Senate, House Democrats did not see their electoral defeat as reason to oust their current leadership team. As such, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) was retained as the Minority Leader, Rep. Steny Hoyer (Md.) was re-elected as the Minority Whip and Rep. James Clyburn (S.C.) was re-elected as Assistant Minority Leader.
For the private club industry, these results mean the House of Representatives will continue pushing a pro-growth, proclub agenda. For years now, this chamber of Congress has been a fertile ground for measures supported by our industry. With the addition of a Republican controlled Senate, those initiatives will now get debated, passed and sent to the president’s desk for the first time in a long time.
ClubPAC As with every election cycle, NCA worked to ensure those candidates who support the private club industry were successful in their races. Our political action committee, ClubPAC, gave contributions to candidates like Sen.-elect Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Sen.-elect Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.). They each won and they will work hard to help us in the 114th Congress.
In the Senate, the change in majority provides our industry with the best opportunity it has had in eight years to see pro-club measures move forward. In the House of Representatives, the addition of up to 13 new Republican members means Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) could have a 29-seat majority. That means more pro-growth, pro-club bills will certainly pass the House. By changing control of the Senate, voters announced that they were unhappy with the intransigence that dominated the 113th Congress. Let’s hope those newly elected and re-elected members listened. If they did, the next two years could be very beneficial for private clubs and their members.