Biden touts his party's midterm successes: 'Democrats had a strong night'

President Joe Biden on Wednesday called the 2022 midterms "a good day for democracy" after Democrats significantly outperformed expectations in what had been anticipated as a referendum on Biden's first two years in office. 

The predicted red wave "didn't happen," Biden noted, recalling his "incessant optimism" prior to the election. 

"Democrats had a strong night," Biden said. "We lost fewer seats in the House of Represenatives than any Democratic president's first midterm election in the last 40 years. We had the best midterm for governors since 1986." 

The 2022 midterms were widely anticipated to play out as a major Republican victory, with analysts and experts broadly predicting significant Republican blowouts as part of widespread backlash to the inflation, immigration crises and other issues that have plagued the Biden administration since January of 2021. 

Returns were considerably more mixed than even many left-leaning commentators had predicted. By Wednesday of this week, Democrats had secured victory a number of key races, including Democrat John Fetterman in Pennsylvania's Senate race as well as two Democratic pickups in governor's races in both Maryland and Massachusetts. 

The president acknowledged considerable voter concern over rising prices throughout the country. "Voters...are still frustrated," he said. "I get it. I understand it's been a tough few years in this country for so many people."

Biden touted the White House's efforts to facilitate economic recovery after the fallout from COVID lockdowns, as well as aggressive efforts to get as many Americans as possible vaccinated against COVID. 

"I believe we took the right steps, for the country and for the American people," he argued, claiming broad voter support for his economic agenda.

Biden pressed for the country to move beyond what he said has been a rancorous environment of U.S. political discourse.

"The American people made it clear," Biden argued. "They don't want every day going forward to be a constant political battle. There's too much of that going on." 

"The future of America is too promising to be trapped in an endless political warfare," he said further, adding: "...I've never been more optimistic about America's future than I am today."