Pelosi warns of ‘difficult night’

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is warning Democrats could be in for a tough election night despite their success in turning out the vote.

Perched inside the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters in Washington, an upbeat Pelosi said the Democrats’ “massive mobilization” effort is paying dividends. Still, she acknowledged a difficult political climate and cautioned that final calls in the tightest races could be a week away.

“It’s a difficult night, [but] we can’t predict what will happen,” Pelosi told a throng of reporters in her war room.

{mosads}”In my own state of California the votes have to be in tonight, but they don’t necessarily get counted until Thursday, Friday, Saturday, over the weekend. So for some of the close races we may not know the full results this evening,” she said. “The message has been delivered, we just have to get out the vote.”

Appearing at her side, Rep. Steve Israel (N.Y.), head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), also sought to put a positive spin on the difficult odds facing the party.

“We knew this was going to be a very tough environment and that we were going to have to win this on the ground,” he said. “We still have 20 competitive districts that nobody can call.”

Greg Jackson, the Democrats’ national field director, rattled off a series of figures surrounding the party’s ground game. On Tuesday alone, Jackson said his troops have reached out to roughly 500,000 voters by phone and knocked on another 500,000 doors. In some districts those volunteers fought thunderstorms, he said; in others, they braved the snow.

“We know it’s a tough environment, and there are a lot of challenges out there, but we are really excited to see such an energized grassroots movement and volunteers all over the country leading the charge,” he said.

Jackson acknowledged that the Democrats are “racing against the clock,” but insisted, “We’re right on pace.”

They could have a tough night ahead.

Although party leaders had entered the cycle hoping to win back the lower chamber, a series of factors — including overseas turmoil, economic anxiety, the Ebola threat and President Obama’s unpopularity — have more recently conspired to put them in a defensive crouch.

The most recent analysis from the Cook Political Report predicts GOP gains of between six and 12 seats in the House, while the Rothenberg Political Report is forecasting the Republicans will pick up between five and 12 seats.

Pelosi, for one, said those results could be awhile to come.

“We’ll see what the outcome is in just a matter of time,” she said, “but that time may not be tonight.”