House Democrats quickly dispatched a fundraising missive in response to Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) endorsement of Donald Trump, as the party seeks to tie the presumptive GOP presidential nominee to down-ballot Republicans.
In a fundraising plea sent on Thursday, less than three hours after Ryan announced he’ll vote for Trump in November after withholding an endorsement for weeks, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) called on supporters to donate in response.
“With this announcement, the entire Republican leadership is officially behind Donald Trump. It’s alarming,” the fundraising email reads, setting a goal of raising $150,000 in the next 24 hours.
{mosads}It then states in bolded red text: “Donald Trump CANNOT be our next President.”
The odds of Democrats taking back the House majority remain long, but nonpartisan political prognosticators aren’t ruling out the possibility this year, due to the unpredictable electoral environment brought on by Trump.
Democrats would need to flip 30 seats in order to win the majority. Only about 15 seats currently held by Republicans are rated by electoral analysts such as the Cook Political Report and the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics as true “toss ups.”
In addition, Democrats face the task of uniting the party as the bruising primary race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders begins to wind down. Emphasizing the goal of denying Trump the Oval Office helps lay out a general election message to bring both candidates’ supporters on the same page.
Ryan became the last top GOP leader in Congress to endorse Trump on Thursday, weeks after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the rest of the House GOP leadership team publicly backed the real estate mogul.
Ryan, the 2012 vice presidential nominee, wrote in an op-ed for his hometown newspaper in Wisconsin, the Gazette, that he felt assured Trump would carry out the House GOP’s agenda.
House Republicans plan to unveil a six-part policy platform over the course of June, starting next week when the House returns from its Memorial Day holiday recess.
The Speaker tried to downplay differences with Trump in his Thursday op-ed, but noted that he will speak out in defense of conservative principles if he feels it is necessary.
“It’s no secret that he and I have our differences. I won’t pretend otherwise. And when I feel the need to, I’ll continue to speak my mind. But the reality is, on the issues that make up our agenda, we have more common ground than disagreement,” Ryan wrote.