Welcome to At the Races! Each week we’ll bring you news and analysis from the CQ Roll Call campaign team. Know someone who’d like to get this newsletter? They can subscribe here.
House Democrats’ campaign arm updated the party’s battlefield this week, adding incumbents and candidates in what would typically appear to be relatively secure seats for the party. Moments after our story posted online, Republicans responded, noting that several of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s 11 additions to its Red to Blue program included candidates in districts that were already blue. Their take on the situation: “Republicans and Democrats agree: No Democrat is safe in this environment,” said Mike Berg, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.
While hyperbolic (most Democrats, like most Republicans, are in safe seats), the point is real. House Democrats face peril heading into the midterms, and a Republican flipping Texas’ 34th District this week made that reality all the more clear.
