GOP's defense of its gerrymandering: The rout could have been even worse

In the aftermath of their failure to flip House districts they redrew this year to favor themselves, Republicans mounted a defense of their controversial project, arguing that without it, their losses would have been even worse.

"Redistricting saved Republicans seats in Texas that otherwise would have been lost in this wave," Adam Kincaid of the National Republican Redistricting Trust said in an interview. "We were building that Texas map for a scenario like 2018, but not a 1974."