Democrats Make Flipping Some Deep Red House Districts Priority For Midterms
Democrats are focusing their attention on some districts that strongly supported President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, as they seek to win back the House of Representatives in November.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) released its “highly competitive” Red-to-Blue slate of candidates on Monday, highlighting a dozen challengers who should receive additional resources to flip Republican-held districts. Flipping some GOP incumbents in seats that Trump won by double digits — like Republican Reps. Andy Ogles of Tennessee and Eli Crane of Arizona, already DCCC targets — has become a priority in the campaign arm’s Red to Blue agenda. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: GOP Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales’ support plummets amid alleged affair scandal, poll finds)
“The candidates nominated in this first round of our Red to Blue agenda are united by their desire to fight for the hard-working families in their districts – not the billionaires who bankroll the corrupt, divisive Republican machine,” DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene said in a press release. “They are focused exclusively on cutting costs, saving health care and putting people first, unlike their Republican opponents who have abandoned ordinary Americans so they can give handouts to the privileged and elite.”
Republicans currently hold a narrow 218-214 majority in the House, and Democrats only need a net gain of four seats to secure a majority in the lower chamber. Democrats are also expected to win the April special election with an all-blue seat in New Jersey, meaning they will likely be three seats short of a majority before November.
Some of the candidates listed are longtime DCCC targets, including Iowa Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, former House Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Juan Ciscomani of Arizona. Michigan Rep. Bill Huizenga is also a target this cycle after his district was closely watched by the DCCC in 2024.
Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder — who was once Tennessee’s youngest mayor — is challenging Freedom Caucus member Ogles, who won his district by 18 points in 2024. The Molder-led city gave Trump 62% of the vote in 2024, according to VoteHub. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report calls the race between Ogles and Molder “likely Republican.”
WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 13: U.S. Representative Eli Crane (R-AZ) returns to a meeting of the House Republican Caucus at the Longworth House Office Building October 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Crane, who like Ogles is a member of the Freedom Caucus, is challenged by Jonathan Nez, supported by Red and Blue, the former president of the Navajo Nation. Crane won his seat, which is more than 20 percent Indian-American, by nine points over New in 2024, underperforming Trump who won the district by a 15-point margin.
Miller-Meeks faces former state Rep. Christina Bohannan for the third time, with Cook calling the race a toss-up. Trump won Iowa’s 1st Congressional District by nine points in 2024. Small business owner Rebecca Cooke is also making her third run against Wisconsin Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden in a Wisconsin seat carried by Trump by seven points.
Also on the list is former television reporter Janelle Stelson, who is seeking a rematch against Perry in a Pennsylvania district, two years after losing by one point while Trump won the seat by five. Former Virginia Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria, who served in the House from 2019 to 2023, is trying to make a comeback against Virginia Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans, who unseated her in 2022. Trump won the seat with just 0.2% of the vote in 2024.
Other additions to the DCCC roster include farmer Jamie Ager challenging North Carolina Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards in a mountainous seat that Trump won by 10 points in the last presidential election. Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti is also on the list. She faces freshman Rep. Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania in a seat that Trump won by 9 points.
Redistricting also plays a role in which districts candidates choose. In Henrico County, Prosecutor Shannon Taylor, a Red-Blue candidate currently challenging Virginia Republican Rep. Rob Wittman, will move to another seat if a new Democratic-drawn map is implemented.
The Virginia state legislature passed a redrawn map last week, but a judge in southwest Virginia blocked a voter referendum on the map by granting a temporary restraining order.
Candidates elevated from the Red to Blue list will receive support for organizing and fundraising and will also undergo training, according to the committee.
“Someone needs to buy a gift card to DCCC to help pay for all the lipstick they put on the pig that is their recruiting class,” National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) spokesman Mike Marinella told Axios. “Their pathetic slate of deeply radical candidates is made up of recycled losers, far-left activists and full-blown socialists who will be roundly rejected by voters across the country. »
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