House Speaker Johnson Predicts GOP House Gains of 7 to 8 Seats Amid Redistricting

House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana predicts Republicans will gain between seven and eight seats in the House, and could reach double digits, as redistricting battles play out in several states.

"I'm convinced we're going to defy history and keep the majority here so we can keep all this going," Johnson said Tuesday during an exclusive interview on Fox & Friends.

Host Brian Kilmeade noted that history strongly favors the opposition party in midterm elections. Johnson countered that it has happened only a couple of times in the last 90 years for the sitting president's party to pick up seats.

"But this is a midterm unlike any other," he said. "We have a great record to run on. We've got better candidates in the field. We're applying common sense."

Johnson said the extent of Republican gains will hinge on how many states get involved in redistricting. Several Republican-led states, including Alabama and Tennessee, have already sought changes. Others such as Mississippi, Missouri, Maine and South Carolina could follow, he added.

On Tuesday, however, some South Carolina Republicans blocked a redistricting plan that would have eliminated the state's only Democratic-held U.S. House seat before the midterms.

Johnson cited President Donald Trump's heavy campaigning as a major boost for Republicans. "He's out on the campaign trail as well because the stakes are so high," he said.

"We can't lose the majority in the House because it would come crashing down around him, and you're going to have a lot of factors in play that have not been a factor in previous midterms. We're going to win."