The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) announced Wednesday it is targeting 12 additional Republican-held U.S. House districts in its midterm election strategy, expanding the battlefield into historically GOP-friendly territory.
These new targets are in addition to the 46 districts the committee had previously identified as potential gains. The expanded list includes seats held by Republican incumbents such as Lauren Boebert of Colorado, French Hill of Arkansas, and Mike Flood of Nebraska. The DCCC stated that the move is driven by a "winning message focused on fighting for an Affordable America."
"At the same time, MAGA Republicans who historically have considered themselves ‘safe’ have let down the people they were elected to represent, passing disastrous policies that are crushing working families and our communities," DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene said in a statement. "Democrats are going to win in November and make Hakeem Jeffries the next Speaker of the House."
Several of the targeted incumbents have faced recent scrutiny. Rep. Max Miller of Ohio's 7th district has been accused of physical abuse by his ex-wife. Rep. Tom Kean Jr. of New Jersey's 7th district missed 140 roll call votes during a nearly four-month absence from Congress, which his office attributed to a diagnosis of depression. Rep. Mike Lawler of New York's 17th district, who narrowly won his seat in 2022 and then defeated Mondaire Jones in 2024, is also on the committee's list.
Lawler's district, which includes parts of Westchester County that voted for Kamala Harris in 2020, also encompasses Rockland and Putnam counties, which Donald Trump won by double digits in the same election. The DCCC's strategy appears to focus on Republicans whose districts present a mix of political leanings or who have faced controversies.