House GOP election arm adds member of Dem leadership, three others to midterm targets list

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EXCLUSIVE: The National Republican Campaign Committee, the House GOP's main re-election arm, has added a member of the Democratic leadership and three other seats to its list of key races to target in the November midterm election.

The NRCC views top House election official Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., as a vulnerable target in the district where he is seeking re-election, adding the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) to the list of seats Republicans want to flip.

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney in 2019. (Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via Reuters)

Maloney, who currently represents the 18th Congressional District of New York, announced his candidacy for the redrawn 17th District in May, angering many Democrats and prompting progressive freshman Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., to withdraw from the race.

"We’ve been warning Democrats for months they have a choice: retire or lose," NRCC chairman Tom Emmer told Fox News Digital in a statement. "The ones who chose not to retire will be held accountable for their reckless spending, soft on crime, pro-illegal immigration, socialist agenda."

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It's unclear who Maloney will face in November. Four Republican candidates are running for the GOP nomination for the seat in New York's Aug. 23 primary. Maloney does face a challenger from the left in Democratic state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, who has advocated for defunding the police and gained Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's endorsement this week.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez listens during a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, Dec. 8, 2021. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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The NRCC's list now includes 75 seats where Republicans hope to flip and win back the House majority. The GOP only needs to win five more seats in November to regain the majority, but the NRCC sees an opportunity for something more historic. If the party wins 18 seats, the GOP majority will be larger than the 1994 wave – following the election of former President Bill Clinton. But if Republicans win 35 more seats this November, it will be the party's largest majority in nearly a century.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi speaks with reporters. (Reuters/Joshua Roberts)

"Right now, the political environment is downright toxic for Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats," the NRCC said in an announcement Wednesday. "History shows the president’s party loses an average of 27 seats in the midterms, and that number jumps to 37 when the president’s approval rating is below 50. Joe Biden’s approval rating currently sits in the low forties because Democrat policies have led to 40-year high inflation, rising crime, and a crisis at the southern border."

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Also new to the NRCC's target list is Florida's 4th Congressional District west of Jacksonville, most of which is currently represented by Rep. Al Lawson, D-Fla. The district has been redrawn in the once-in-a-decade redistricting process and now leans red. 

The list also includes Illinois' 8th Congressional District, represented by Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, and Pennsylvania's open 12th District, which encompasses Pittsburgh, where Republican Mike Doyle is running to replace retiring Democratic Rep. Mike Doyle.