Democrats Reserve Airtime to Expand House Map

By Simone Pathé

Posted July 11, 2016 at 5:40pm

The House Majority PAC reserved broadcast and cable airtime in seven new media markets Monday, covering six congressional districts that are either Tossups or Republican-leaning seats the party hopes to put in play this fall.

The PAC’s reservations for the fall now exceed $24 million across 30 media markets.

“Our expanding media campaign will maximize the growing number of electoral opportunities for House Democrats this fall as Republicans up and down the ballot are forced to contend with a toxic ticket and toxic party brand,” Alixandria Lapp, the group’s executive director, said in a statement.

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Roll Call’s 2016 Election Guide: House

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The new reservations include:

Utah’s 4th District: $383,000 in Salt Lake City. Freshman Rep. Mia Love won here by just five points in a strong year for Republicans and is facing a rematch from Democrat Doug Owens , the son of the late Utah congressman, Wayne Owens. The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report/Roll Call recently changed this district’s rating from Safe Republican to Republican Favored .

New York’s 23rd District: $57,000 in Elmira and $185,000 in Buffalo in this Western New York district, where four-term Rep. Tom Reed has endorsed Donald Trump . Democrat John Plumb is on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Red to Blue list. The district is rated Safe Republican, but Mitt Romney won here by only 2 points in 2012.

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New York Could Hold Key to Democratic Majority in House

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Florida’s 13th District: $1.47 million in the Tampa Bay area in a redrawn district that became much more Democratic in recent redistricting. Incumbent Rep. David Jolly recently bowed out of the Senate race to run for re-election here. He’s currently one of the most vulnerable members in the House , and he faces former Gov. Charlie Crist in November.

Florida’s 7th District: $810,000 in Orlando, where Democrats have recruited Stephanie Murphy to take on 12-term GOP Rep. John L. Mica in a district they’ve been wanting to put in play for a long time. It’s a Favored Republican seat.

Maine’s 2nd District: $589,000 in Portland and $307,000 in Bangor. Freshman Rep. Bruce Poliquin is facing a rematch against Democrat Emily Cain in this tossup district. Poliquin is the 9th most vulnerable House member on Roll Call’s list.

Minnesota’s 3rd District: The PAC is upping previous reservations in Minneapolis and St. Paul that were intended to target the state’s 8th and 2nd Districts. This $574,000 new reservation covers the Safe Republican 3rd District where Democrats landed state Sen. Terri Bonoff to take on four-term Rep. Erik Paulsen.

Contact Pathé at

simonepathe@rollcall.com

and follow her on Twitter at

@sfpathe

.