House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer said Wednesday that there’s a “90 percent” chance Democrats will retake the lower chamber in the November midterm elections.

“I think it’s 90 percent, I really do believe it’s very positive,” the Maryland Democrat told reporter Mike Allen at an event hosted by Axios, the Washington Examiner reported.

“I think we’re on the upside,” he said. “The president’s popularity is very low, in the 30s. And when you see that, historically, you see a significant shift of membership in the House of Representatives.”

There will be at least 48 vacated seats this year, according to Axios, and Democrats need to gain at least 24 to win back the House. Mr. Hoyer said there’s two reasons to conclude that Democrats will have enough momentum to pull it off.

“We have a lot of candidates who want to run in a lot of districts,” he said. “A large number are competitive, certainly enough for us to take back the majority.”

“Secondly, what do you see on the Republican side? You see retirements,” he added.

Mr. Hoyer predicted that Republican voters will stay home during the midterms “because they’re not energized.”

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