Some swing-district House Republicans are skipping the balloon-drop and speeches as their party gathers this week in Milwaukee to nominate Donald Trump for a second term as president.
Instead of attending the Republican National Convention, Republican incumbents and challengers facing tough races say they will be busy with other political commitments, such as campaigning in their districts, meeting with constituents and raising money.
California Rep. David Valadao is staying in the Central Valley, a spokesperson for his campaign said in an email last week. Valadao is one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump on a charge of inciting an insurrection after a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Another member from California, Rep. John Duarte, is also not attending, according to a campaign staffer. He faces a rematch with Democrat Adam Gray in a race rated Toss-up by Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales.
Rep. Young Kim, who holds a southern California battleground seat, has “a jam-packed schedule in her district,’’ a spokesperson said. On Monday, hours before Trump stood on the stage at the Fiserv Forum and received the party’s nomination, Kim was talking about a bipartisan bill to lower Medicare costs on a morning show serving the Laguna Woods Village retirement community in Orange County, Calif.
Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican facing a tough reelection campaign against his 2022 opponent, Democrat Tony Vargas, is currently on “a long-scheduled CODEL to the Baltics,’’ his campaign said, using Capitol jargon for an official trip by a congressional delegation.
Valadao, Duarte, Kim and Bacon all represent districts Biden would have won in 2020, had the current boundaries been in place.
Incumbents aren’t the only Republicans opting to steer clear of the convention. Several challengers hoping to unseat vulnerable Democrats are also staying away. Scott Baugh, who is running against Democrat Dave Min for an open seat in Orange County, isn’t there.
Nor is Gabe Evans, a Colorado Republican seeking to oust freshman Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo. “We’re just emerging from the primary and busy in-district with fundraising and such,’’ a campaign spokesperson said in an email.
George Logan, locked in a rematch with Democratic Rep. Jahana Hayes in Connecticut after a narrow loss two years ago, is also staying close to home.
“Voters are desperate to change the direction of the country to restore affordability, protect our border, and bring some common sense back to Washington D.C. The only way I can do that is by getting out and talking to voters here in communities across the 5th Congressional District and that’s what I’m going to be doing for the next 118 days,’’ Logan said.
Democrats have worked for years to challenge Republicans to distance themselves from Trump, especially as he was indicted multiple times and found guilty of falsifying business records to cover up a tryst with an adult film star and liable for sexually abusing a woman in a clothing store dressing room and then defaming her after she accused him.
For Republicans in blue and purple districts, who have centered their campaigns on the economy and immigration while downplaying the party’s embrace of election denial, the convention has offered some uncomfortable reminders. The Washington Post reported that Nevada Republican Chairman Michael McDonald, who helped organize alternate electors falsely claiming Trump won the state in 2020, seconded Trump’s nomination. Ed Martin, the deputy policy director of the convention platform committee, was in the mob outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, and at least three other delegates were in photos of the crowd.
But 2024 congressional dynamics are in flux after President Joe Biden’s poor debate performance last month raised questions about his ability to run and serve, and the assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania over the weekend.
Not only might Trump’s impact on House races be muted, Republicans say it’s Biden who is dragging his party’s candidates down, particularly swing district Democrats who hold seats in districts that Trump would have won.
“Vulnerable House Democrats are desperate to create separation from President Biden. It’s why so many of them are throwing him overboard since the debate — problem is it won’t work — and Biden is only going to pull them further underwater,’’ Will Reinert, spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement.
Still, Democrats are seeking to tie battleground district Republicans to Trump, even if they don’t make the trip to Milwaukee.
“Whether they attend the Trump coronation in person or not, House Republicans aren’t going to be able to run away from their fealty to Donald Trump and his dangerous Project 2025 agenda of banning abortion nationwide, extending tax cuts for the ultra wealthy, and ending Medicare as we know it,’’ said Viet Shelton, spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Some vulnerable House Republicans are attending the RNC. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito of New York, who represents a Long Island district Biden won by 15 percentage points in 2020, is at the convention. Fellow New York Rep. Mike Lawler, who is at the convention, touted a shoutout from Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, who addressed the crowd Monday night. So is Rep. Zach Nunn, a freshman from Iowa whose race against Democrat Lanon Baccam is rated Tilt Republican. Virginia Rep. Jen Kiggans, a freshman Republican whose race is also rated Tilt Republican, planned to be there too.
Mike Madrid, a veteran political consultant from California and co-founder of The Lincoln Project, said most voters — even the political independents who could tip the balance in a battleground district — won’t know or care if a candidate attended the convention.
But hobnobbing with celebrities and fighting the crowds at the national convention simply isn’t worth it, he said.
“If I’m a campaign manager with a candidate in a swing district and he or she wants to go to the convention, I’m going to throw a tantrum and say that is just the absolute worst possible use of your time,’’ Madrid said. Instead, he’d advise the candidate, “I’ve got a whole week for you to go to this parade or to that business opening, or to meet with this group of mayors, or to go walk and knock on doors, or to have a small donor fundraiser, or a coffee. That’s how you win races.”
Mary Ellen McIntire contributed to this report.
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