Key Republicans decry midterm results: ‘Definitely not a Republican wave, that’s for darn sure’

Leading Republicans openly acknowledged disappointment at the party’s worse-than-expected election results — with Sen. Lindsey Graham saying it was “definitely not a Republican wave, that’s for darn sure.”

“Hats off to the Democrats — they performed well in a lot of these swing districts,” the South Carolina senator late Tuesday as he accepted a series of key losses in races widely expected to turn red.

“It’s not a wave for sure,” he repeated.

Fellow Republican Sen. ꧒Ted Cruz was simi🧜larly resigned while noting incoming results on a .

“It hasn’t been as big of a wave as I’d hoped it would be. We’ve had some close races go the other way so far,” the Texas senator conceded.

Still, both men tried to remain optimistic at the prospect of a majority in the House, and potentially a slight lead in the Senate, albeit one far tigh♛ter than widely predicted.

Graham even suggested that “something good could come” of “a divided government” forced to work together to achieve anything.

He dismissed suggestions that the underwhelming results were the fault of the intervention and endorsements of former President Donald Trump, who he “thinks is likely” to announce a 2024 run next week.

Instead, he said the election was “a referendum on Biden,” which presumably means the aging commander-in-chief is more popular than his alarmingly poor poll numbers suggest.

Asked if he thought Biden would also announce a 2024 run soon, Graham said: “That’s their problem, not ours — we got plenty of problems.”