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NRCC adds 10 Democrats to target list after release of census tally

All members are from states due to lose House seats

Rep. Marie Newman of Illinois is one of 10 Democrats on a new list of candidates targeted for defeat next year by the National Republican Campaign Committee.
Rep. Marie Newman of Illinois is one of 10 Democrats on a new list of candidates targeted for defeat next year by the National Republican Campaign Committee. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)

The National Republican Congressional Committee is adding 10 House Democrats to its target list for the 2022 midterm elections, as the party seeks to reclaim the majority in the chamber. 

All 10 of the incumbent Democrats represent states, such as California and New York, that are set to lose a House seat thanks to the 2020 census, which will shift the balance of congressional seats for the next decade. 

House Republicans had already said they were targeting 47 of their Democratic colleagues in an initial list released in February. Some of those 47 have since said they won’t seek reelection, including Reps. Cheri Bustos of Illinois, who said Friday this would be her final term, and Filemon Vela of Texas. Others on the original list are eyeing the exits, including Rep. Charlie Crist, a Democrat of Florida, who is expected to announce a gubernatorial run Tuesday.  

Republicans see new opportunities on their congressional map after officials last week announced the reapportionment of House seats. Still, how the shifting seats may affect the battle for the House majority remains uncertain because states that will lose seats, or those that stand to gain, have yet to redraw their district lines.  

“Republicans are on offense all across the country,” said Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, who chairs the NRCC, in a statement outlining the additional targets. “Every House Democrat is facing an uphill battle having to defend their toxic socialist agenda that prioritizes trillion-dollar tax hikes on the middle class, opens our borders, closes our schools and defunds the police.”

Democrats, though, say they have a winning message heading into the midterms.

“House Democrats head into the midterms with a disciplined electoral strategy, strong grassroots fundraising, and legislative wins for the American people that are putting shots in arms, cash in pockets, reopening schools, and getting people back to work,” said DCCC spokesperson, Chris Taylor, in an email. “Meanwhile, House Republicans are being led by QAnon conspiracy theorists, and are dead set on ripping apart our democracy with suppressive voting laws and unfair maps.”

The 10 Democrats new to the NRCC’s target list are: 

The NRCC’s initial target list included 29 districts that either did not back President Joe Biden or supported the House incumbent by 5 points or less. The list also included eight Democrats who won by less than 10 points and underperformed Biden.

Newman, a freshman lawmaker who beat incumbent Democratic Rep. Dan Lipinski in a primary last year, currently represents a district that voted for Biden 56 percent to 43 percent for then-President Donald Trump. But depending on how Democrats, who control the state’s redistricting process, draw the new lines, Republicans believe they may have a shot at the seat.  

In Michigan, Biden won Kildee’s current district by a closer margin, 51 percent to Trump’s 47 percent. 

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