The House Democrats’ campaign arm expanded its list of vulnerable lawmakers Thursday, adding some members from districts that President Biden easily carried in 2020.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added seven lawmakers to its “Frontline” members list of House lawmakers the DCCC regards as most in need of support from donors and activists. The newly updated 32-member list includes lawmakers who previously represented districts that, before re-mapping, Mr. Biden won overwhelmingly.
Added to the list were Rep. Greg. Stanton of Arizona, Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, Rep. Sanford Bishop of Georgia, Rep. Bill Foster of Illinois, Rep. Jennifer Wexton of Virginia, Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan.
Mr. Stanton now represents his state’s 4th Congressional District, which has much less of a Democratic lean than the previous 9th Congressional District he won by a 23-point margin in 2020.
Mrs. Kaptur, first elected in 1982 and the longest-serving woman in the history of the House, found her seat redrawn into a Republican-leaning district by GOP mapmakers. The lines are still in dispute after the Ohio Supreme Court invalidated the map in early January.
Ms. Wexton is a second-term lawmaker who won her Northern Virginia seat by 13 points in her first election and was reelected in 2020.
Rep. Haley Stevens of Michigan came off the list as her district became safer after maps were redrawn.
House Democrats hold a slim five-seat majority against Republicans and enter the campaign cycle fighting against recent history, as the party in the White House usually loses seats in Congress.
“Frontline House Democrats head into November with a record of delivering for the American people by fighting to end this pandemic, rebooting our economy, and putting millions of Americans to work rebuilding America,” said DCCC Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney. “Across the country, Republicans will have to defend their extremist agenda that just doesn’t work for American families.”
Republicans, however, saw the expansion of the list as a signal that the Democrats’ chances of keeping the House are sinking.
National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Mike Berg said in a statement, “The DCCC recognizes that with each passing day more Democrat incumbents are vulnerable. Democrats have a choice heading into Election Day: retire or lose.”
