House GOP reelection committee expanding list of Democratic targets
House Republicans only need to flip 5 seats in 2022 to regain control of chamber
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The campaign arm for House Republicans is adding 10 Democratic lawmakers to its list of 47 seats held by what it considers to be vulnerable Democrats in the chamber that it sees as potential pickup opportunities for the GOP in the 2022 midterm elections.
National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) chair Rep. Tom Emmer, in unveiling the expanded list Tuesday, touted that "Republicans are on offense all across the country."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Emmer, R-Minn., argued that "every House Democrat is facing an uphill battle having to defend their toxic socialist agenda that prioritizes trillion-dollar tax hikes on the middle class, opens our borders, closes our schools and defunds the police."
The announcement comes a week after the U.S. Census Bureau released initial numbers from the 2020 Census. According to the once-in-a-decade congressional apportionment, GOP-controlled states, such as Texas and Florida, are among the states gaining House seats, while California, New York and Illinois, where Democrats control the levers of government, are among the states losing seats.
Census data to be released later this year will determine the redistricting process, which is expected to generally favor Republicans over Democrats.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The U.S. Capitol Dome is silhouetted against the rising sun, Friday, April 30, 2021 in Washington. (AP Photo/J. David Ake) (AP Photo/J. David Ake)
All 10 new targets come from states that are losing a congressional seat.
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The new Democrats being spotlighted are Reps. Ami Bera (CA-07), Jim Costa (CA-16) and Raul Ruiz (CA-36) of California, Marie Newman of Illinois (IL-03), Dan Kildee of Minnesota (MI-05), Kathleen Rice (NY-04), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Joe Morelle (NY-25) and Brian Higgins (NY-26) of New York and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The NRCC in February put out its original list of 47 House Democrats that it considers vulnerable.
The GOP controlled the House for eight years before losing the majority in the chamber in the 2018 midterms amid a wave by House Democrats. But Republicans defied expectations and took a big bite out of the Democrats' majority in November's elections and currently only need to flip five seats in 2022 to regain control of the chamber.