CNN to hold town hall Thursday with battleground House members

Four members of Congress representing some of the most competitive House districts will participate in a Thursday town hall on CNN.

Republican Reps. Mike Lawler (N.Y.) and Ryan Mackenzie (Pa.) and Democratic Reps. Jahana Hayes (Conn.) and Derek Tran (Calif.) will participate in the event, the network said in a Monday announcement. CNN hosts Jake Tapper and Kaitlan Collins will moderate.

Mackenzie and Tran are first-term members who defeated incumbents of the opposing party in 2024, with Mackenzie unseating former Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) and Tran defeating former Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.). 

Lawler is a second-term member who is also considering a gubernatorial run. Hayes is in her fourth term.

There will be a live studio audience at the town hall made up of Republicans, Democrats, and independents, including constituents from each member’s district. The lawmakers will answer questions from those in the audience as well as from the hosts Tapper and Collins.

The town hall comes, CNN noted, after Democrats overperformed in a pair of Florida special elections for the House and won a Wisconsin Supreme Court race, boosting Democrats’ hopes of winning back the lower chamber in the midterm elections.