Clinton: ‘Everything will change if we win in 2018’

Hillary Clinton on Wednesday argued that Democrats have a “realistic” shot at taking back the House, saying that “everything will change” if the party can gain major ground in the 2018 midterms.

In a wide-ranging interview, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee criticized coverage of her private email server and blamed the Democratic Party as a whole for not giving her enough help after winning the nomination. But she also looked forward to the future of her party in the era of President Trump.

She said that the path to winning back the House starts in major gubernatorial races this fall in Virginia and New Jersey.

{mosads}”We have to first win elections in Virginia and New Jersey in 2017,” Clinton said during a Wednesday question-and-answer session at Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.

“We’ve got to take the House back and keep our incumbents and maybe make progress in the Senate. Everything will change if we win in 2018.”

House Democrats have an uphill climb in taking back the House next year. They will need to flip 24 seats in order to regain the majority, and many of those will need to be districts carried by Trump.

But Clinton noted that she won 23 districts currently held by GOP members. She said that Democrats can make major gains if they target those types of districts. She mentioned the seven located in California, specifically noting Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who is a top 2018 Democratic target. She said it’s important to field good candidates in these districts.

“If we can flip those, then go deeper into where I did well, where we can get good candidates, I think flipping the House is certainly realistic.”

When asked if the party was organized to take back the House, Clinton said that it’s a work in progress.

“We’re working on that,” she said. “I’m working on that.”