Republicans on Tuesday won special elections for two US House of Representatives seats in Florida.
These seats are vacated by Donald Trump's cabinet nominees.
Democratic candidates Josh Weil and Gay Valimont are on track to lose the solidly red districts by much smaller margins than the more than 30 points.
Michael Whatley, chair of the Republican National Committee, said the pair of “decisive victories” in Florida were an endorsement of the president’s second-term agenda.
“The American people sent a clear message tonight: they want elected officials who will advance President Trump’s ‘America first’ agenda, and their votes can’t be bought by national Democrats,” he said.
Before Tuesday’s special elections, the GOP held 218 seats in Congress’s lower chamber and the Democrats 213.
But despite their disappointing performance in last November’s presidential election, Democrats appear to be continuing their streak of strong performances in off-year elections nationwide.