National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions held a news briefing with reporters this afternoon, and he and his deputies indicated they are bullish on House GOP prospects this cycle. Sessions cited fundraising and what he described as a lasting backlash against health care reform as reasons the Republicans will hold the House. His head of recruitment also questioned the "Drive for 25" effort of its Democratic counterpart, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, to take back control of the chamber. “I want to touch on the myth out there with [DCCC Chairman Steve] Israel and [Rep. Chris] Van Hollen and others, they started this ‘Drive for 25.’ If you notice, they’re not really saying it as much anymore because the numbers just don’t add up for them,” Rep. Steve Scalise (La.) said. “I don’t think many people believe they can flip 25 seats in the first place.” In a PowerPoint presentation, head of redistricting Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (Ga.) projected a net gain of two seats on a by-the-numbers analysis of redistricting. Analysts are generally describing this cycle’s redistricting as a wash. Sessions then laced into President Barack Obama regarding the ongoing debate over the past few weeks about contraception. He described Obama as “divisive” and said that he was “disappointed” in him. He added that it was “typical of the president to divide, not heal,” the American people.
