Johnson calls election-transfer fears 'absurd' a week before midterms

House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, said Tuesday that Congress will follow the Constitution and seat members who are certified by their states, calling concerns about a contested election "absurd" ¹. He spoke at a campaign stop with New York Republican Representative Mike Lawler, one week before the Nov. 3 midterm election ¹.

Democrats and voting-rights advocates are preparing for possible challenges if control of the House flips, as is widely projected, or if the Senate changes hands, which is more closely contested ¹. Republicans hold majorities in both chambers ¹.

Johnson said the House will administer the oath on Jan. 3 to everyone who is there. "I may not like some of those outcomes, but that's our system," he said. "And for anybody to suggest otherwise is absurd" ¹.

He also told reporters that questions about a peaceful transfer were "a little silly." "Of course we'll have a peaceful transfer of power. But it will not be transferring, because we are going to keep the majority and I'm going to be the speaker of the House and I will keep steady hands at the wheel," Johnson said ¹.

From Channel GOPTrump on the Alaska ballot and the DOJ suitDonald Trump · 219 plays · captioned, with the source named

The concerns have been fueled by President Donald Trump, who has continued to falsely claim that widespread fraud cost him the 2020 election ¹. Trump called to "nationalize" elections earlier this year and repeatedly questioned the security of mail voting, while suggesting noncitizens could vote in large enough numbers to skew results ¹. His administration sued California this month over noncitizens voting ¹.

The Justice Department also sued Alaska last week to block certification of its results in the event of voter confusion ¹. Republican Senator Dan Sullivan will appear on the ballot beside Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher whom Republicans have said is on the ballot only as a spoiler candidate ¹.

Johnson was a key congressional ally of Trump's in his quest to overturn the 2020 election results, the report notes ¹. On Tuesday he said questions about a peaceful transfer were "a little silly" ¹.

Johnson says polls are wrong

Johnson also told Fox News's Laura Ingraham on Monday that he believes polls showing big leads for Democrats are underestimating Republicans ². "I think it's [polls are] even further off this time because more and more Republicans are unwilling to participate in these surveys," Johnson said, calling it "the partisan nonresponse bias" ².

The Hill reported that an analysis by political data analyst Nate Silver found that in the two most recent midterms, 2018 and 2022, polls did not underestimate Republicans ². In 2018 the average polling error was 0 points, and in 2022 polls underestimated Democrats by 0.3 points ².

Nonpartisan election forecaster Decision Desk HQ, a partner of The Hill, gives Democrats an 80 percent chance of flipping the House, which they need to pick up three seats to accomplish, the outlet reported ². Republicans have pulled out of key races including New Jersey's 7th Congressional District and Iowa's 1st Congressional District, both of which Trump carried in 2024, according to The Hill ².

That matters because Johnson's promise to seat certified winners is the central assurance that the Nov. 3 results will be honored, and his confidence that Republicans will keep the majority means the promise may never be tested. The pattern is that both sides are describing the same election in opposite terms a week out.

The Record

1. Oct 27, 2026Speaker Mike Johnson says the House will seat certified winners on Jan. 3 and calls concerns about a contested election "absurd" ¹.
2. Oct 27, 2026Johnson tells reporters a peaceful transfer will happen but "it will not be transferring" because Republicans will keep the majority ¹.
3. Oct 26, 2026Johnson tells Fox News that polls are further off this time because Republicans are unwilling to participate in surveys ².

Sources

1. CNBC, “Speaker Mike Johnson calls election-transfer concerns ‘absurd’” (2026-10-27). cnbc.com/2026/10/27/speaker-johnson-peaceful-transfer-midter
2. The Hill, “Mike Johnson: 'The polls are wrong'” (2026-10-27). thehill.com/homenews/campaign/6174921-mike-johnson-slams-pol

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