House Democratic campaign arm shakes up midterm battlefield plan

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) rolled out updates to its midterm battlefield plan on Thursday in a move meant to shake up the party’s House campaign arm’s strategy going into November. 

The committee said it’s adding 12 challengers to its “Red to Blue” program, many of which are in districts that became more favorable to Democrats after the decennial redistricting process. 

Republicans are aiming to flip at least five seats to win back the majority in the House and numerous polls show the GOP leading on the congressional generic ballot. But Democrats could push back through flipping GOP-held seats. 

“Our candidates and members are veterans, teachers, doctors, and public servants who know the struggles of working families, are committed to service, and are building the kinds of campaigns that will send Democrats back to Washington with the majority needed to deliver for the people,” DCCC Chair Sean Patrick Maloney (R-N.Y.) said in a statement. 

The program’s candidate additions include Rudy Salas in California’s 22nd congressional district, Jay Chen in California’s 45th congressional district, Brittany Pettersen in Colorado’s 7th congressional district, Christina Bohannan in Iowa’s first congressional district, Liz Mathis in Iowa’s second congressional district, Nikki Budzinski in Illinois’ 13th congressional district, Hillary Scholten in Michigan’s 13th congressional district,  Gabe Vasquez in New Mexico’s second congressional district, Jackie Gordon in New York’s first congressional district, Max Rose in New York’s eleventh congressional district, Greg Landsman in Ohio’s first congressional district, and Emilia Sykes in Ohio’s 13th congressional district. 

President Biden won ten out of the 12 districts in 2020. 

The DCCC also added a number of districts to its “Frontline Program,” which is aimed at supporting candidates in highly competitive districts. Those additions include North Carolina’s sixth congressional district, Connecticut’s sixth congressional district, and Pennsylvania’s sixth congressional district. 

Additionally, the committee added new districts to its “Districts in Play” list, which consists of races the DCCC believes could help protect the party’s House majority. Those districts include North Carolina’s 13th and 14th districts, New York’s first and 11th districts, Pennsylvania’s 17th district, Rhode Island’s second district, and Wisconsin’s first and third districts. 

The National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee (NRCC) reacted to the DCCC’s battlefield shakeup in a statement to The Hill on Thursday. 

“Not a single one of the DCCC’s Red to Blue candidates defeated a GOP incumbent last cycle because they ran on a socialist agenda that includes defunding police, inflationary spending, and open borders. Nothing has changed this cycle,” said NRCC spokesman Mike Berg.