The National Republican Congressional Committee on Wednesday named seven new House hopefuls to its program for top candidates seeking to flip seats this fall.
The additions to the MAGA Majority program, as Republicans have rebranded what had long been known as its Young Guns effort, include four candidates who recently won primaries in battleground districts and three who must still face GOP primary voters.
Republicans are seeking to defend and grow their narrow House majority this fall in the face of historical trends that depict midterm elections as typically challenging for the party in power.
“While House Democrats are consumed by infighting and lurching further to the far left, Republicans continue to build the strongest candidate roster in the country,” NRCC Chair Richard Hudson of North Carolina said in a statement. “These America First leaders are exactly the kind of battle-tested conservatives who will help us grow our majority and continue advancing President Donald Trump’s agenda.”
Candidates named to the MAGA Majority program receive additional support and resources from the party.
The new additions include:
- Barb Regnitz, a Porter County commissioner who is challenging Indiana Rep. Frank J. Mrvan
- Former Ohio state Rep. Derek Merrin, who won a Republican primary in May to set up a rematch with longtime Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur
- Jeanine Driscoll, the receiver of taxes in Hempstead, N.Y., who is challenging first-term New York Democrat Laura Gillen
- Air Force veteran Carlos De La Cruz, the brother of Texas Rep. Monica De La Cruz, who faces Bexar County sheriff’s deputy Johnny Garcia in a seat redrawn to favor Republicans
The latest MAGA Majority recruits also include three Republicans who face primaries next month:
- Navy veteran Amir Hassan, who is seeking to challenge Democratic Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet in Michigan’s 8th District
- Mike Bouchard Jr., an Army veteran who is running for Michigan’s open 10th District
- Businessman Anthony DiLorenzo, who is vying for the GOP nomination in New Hampshire’s open 1st District
All seven candidates have received endorsements from President Donald Trump, with three of them — Regnitz, DiLorenzo and Driscoll — clinching his support on Monday.
