Pence says he was 'surprised' that Republicans didn't win more seats in the midterm elections

• Mike Pence said he was "surprised" that Republicans didn't win more seats in the 2022 midterms.
• While on the CBS program "Face the Nation," Pence said citizens want the GOP to focus on the future.

Former Vice President Mike Pence during an interview that aired on Sunday said he was "surprised" and "disappointed" that Republicans didn't pick up more seats in the November midterm elections, but said he felt confident in the abilities of the incoming House GOP leadership.

During an interview on the CBS program "Face the Nation," Pence told host Margaret Brennan that while he wanted to see larger Republican margins in Congress, a "win is a win."

"I was surprised. I was disappointed at the outcome of the election in that regard, although, I was there the last time that we defeated Nancy Pelosi's majority and I'm looking forward to the day that Kevin McCarthy is elected Speaker of the United States House and leads the Republican majority," he said. "A win is a win, but I would have liked to see more Republicans elected to Congress. I would have liked to have seen a Republican majority in the Senate."

Headed into the election, Republicans were widely favored by many political observers to not only flip many Democratic-held House seats en route to a majority, but in the final weeks of the election cycle, the GOP was also pushing hard for control of the Senate.

However, Democrats held on to the Senate, winning key contests in Arizona, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania, while also leading in the Georgia Senate race — which will head to a December 6 runoff election after incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock won slightly less than 50% of the vote against Republican Herschel Walker.

And Republicans only recently clinched control of the House; with nearly all the races called, the GOP currently has a 219-211 edge.

Pence — who served in the House from 2001 to 2013 before leaving to become governor of Indiana — said that citizens wanted to see Republicans focus on the future once they retake control of the lower chamber next year.

"I have every confidence that the new Republican leadership in the Congress, the new Republican majority when Nancy Pelosi hands the gavel to Kevin McCarthy, is going to draw the lessons from the midterm campaign which for me give evidence of the fact that the American people want the Republican Party and frankly, all of our leaders to be focused on the future," he said, pointing to issues that include the economy and immigration. "I think what you're going to see is Republican leadership and the Congress that's going to focus on those issues. And I think that's where people want us focused."

The former vice president continues to mull over a potential 2024 presidential campaign, which if he entered into the race would pit him against his old boss, former President Donald Trump, who officially launched his campaign for the GOP nomination last week.