The 2020 Election Was A Good One For Republicans Not Named Trump

Republican Sen. Susan Collins delivers election night remarks to supporters and staff on Nov. 3 in Bangor, Maine. Collins was down by four points in an average of polls before Election Day but won by 9 percentage points.

Scott Eisen / Getty Images

Republicans outperformed the polls up and down the ballot in the 2020 election, to the surprise even of many Republican political operatives and survey researchers.

To be clear, Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Trump; Democrats will still control the House and still have a chance of picking up the Senate.

But Republicans made gains in the House — so far netting five seats (with 22 races not yet called). Given their presumed strength in the suburbs, Democrats had been expected to expand their majority.