Republicans McCarthy, Scott boast of ‘red tsunami’ in 2022 midterms as GOP seeks comeback

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy confidently told a room of South Carolina Republicans Friday night that if the GOP retakes the U.S. House, conservative voters should book a flight to Washington on Jan 3, 2023.

“I want you all there because I want you to see Nancy Pelosi hand me that gavel,” said McCarthy, who is poised to become the next speaker in January should Republicans win back the majority and should enough of his colleagues back him.

McCarthy appears to be the likeliest next Republican speaker, but has drawn ire from some colleagues over his response to former President Donald Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

McCarthy headlined the South Carolina Republican Party’s 55th Silver Elephant Gala, an annual party fundraiser that featured remarks from Gov. Henry McMaster, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and state Rep. Russell Fry, who ousted incumbent Rep. Tom Rice for the 7th District seat. Rice became a Trump target after he joined Democrats to impeach Trump after the riot.

McCarthy’s visit to the Palmetto States comes amid Republican efforts to regain the U.S. House, with the midterms nearly three months away. McCarthy and other Republican House members met earlier Friday with Kellyanne Conway, a former Trump administration advisor, to discuss plans for the midterms, CNN reported.

The plan, CNN reported, involved task forces McCarthy formed last summer to draft messaging for Republican candidates.

“You think it’s going to be easy, but majorities are not given, majorities are earned,” McCarthy said Friday night. “We’re not winning it to have a gavel. We’re winning it to change a country.”

Drawing parallels between his keynote speech and Ronald Reagan, who was the the Silver Elephant dinner’s first keynote speaker as the then-governor of California, McCarthy assured the room he’s not like many Californians.

He’s never been a Democrat, he said.

McCarthy also criticized the Biden administration for its handling of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rising inflation, and pushed for the importance of getting Republicans in office and retaking the House.

The goal of making gains in November was a common message at the Friday night event.

Ahead of the dinner, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott told reporters that Republicans feel “very good” ahead of the midterms, calling it a “red wave” and then said it “might be a red tsunami.”

“The reason why there’s such a possibility of a tsunami is because the economic indicators that most of us look at, putting gas in our cars, that level of inflation and the strength of the economy have all gotten worse under the Biden administration,” Scott said. “That gives us a whole lot of opportunities to tell our story of what the economy looked like when we were in charge.”

Later, he addressed the crowd, pointing to inflation, the southern U.S. border and pulling troops from Afghanistan as faults in the Biden administration. A Republican majority in the House is the solution to these issues, Scott said.

“The day is coming in November of this year where we will have a Republican speaker of the House,” Scott said.

Scott has fueled speculation of a 2024 presidential run as he stumps across the country, including in early-voting states, for Republican candidates. He also recently released a new memoir, called “America, A Redemption Story.”

Scott visited Iowa, an early-voting state in the presidential nomination process, last month. He told reporters he might go to Iowa again in late August, but said he also is visiting Michigan, Texas and Wisconsin.

Scott has said his 2022 Senate run will be his last. He faces state Rep. Krystle Matthews, D-Berkeley, in November.

Also expressing support for McCarthy to be the next speaker, Graham on Friday highlighted Republican victories, including the overturn of Roe v. Wade and the three conservative justices — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — who he said were confirmed by the “hand of God.”

“Let’s make sure Tim Scott and Henry McMaster and everybody on the ticket wins by the largest margin in the history of South Carolina,” Graham said.