Democrats scour map for sleeper races [View all]
To expand House playing field, party officials bet on long-shot districts.
By DAVID SIDERS 12/08/2017 06:13 PM EST
TRUCKEE, Calif. — Following their Election Day romp in Virginia, New Jersey and a handful of other states, Democrats rushed to fan the prospect of a wave election in 2018.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee quickly added 11 more Republican-held districts — long-shot seats that aren’t typically in play — to its existing list of 80 targeted races. Candidates in those newly added seats got a sudden dose of fundraising and organizational assistance, in addition to help with budgeting and media operations.
The incumbent Republicans in those seats, some of them unaccustomed to vigorous challenges, are already feeling the squeeze. California Rep. Tom McClintock, who represents one of the newly added districts, acknowledged “a huge enthusiasm gap that favors the Democrats right now.”
“I think in a lot of ways, it’s the 2010 dynamic in reverse,” he said.
Rep. Glenn Grothman — one of two Wisconsin Republicans on the list, which includes House Speaker Paul Ryan — told the local WISN-AM radio station last month that his campaign was “not raising as much money as we should.”
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https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/08/democrats-election-long-shot-districts-287916
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