Just over a week until Election Day, the battlegrounds where Republicans are looking to pick up House seats have extended more and more into territories that heavily favored President Biden in 2020, with both sides pouring money into races in such areas.
Among these are California’s 26th district, New York’s 25th, and Pennsylvania’s 12th, where GOP spending has increased, according to an Axios report, and Democrats have taken notice.
“The DCCC has already invested in these seats that are critical to maintaining the majority,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Tommy Garcia informed Axios.
The California district is currently held by Democrat Rep. Julia Brownley, who won her 2020 race by 21 points. The majority of her district is located in Ventura County, which President Biden won by the same margin.
National Republican Campaign Committee chairman Tom Emmer told Fox News over the weekend that “nobody would have expected” Brownley to have difficulty but that she is now “really in a fight” with Republican Matt Jacobs.
In New York’s 25th district, incumbent Democrat Rep. Joe Morelle won by 20 points in 2020. Biden similarly won by 20 points in Monroe County, which makes up much of the district. Emmer said Morelle “is in trouble” against GOP candidate La’Ron Singletary.
That race has reportedly drawn the attention – and money – of party leaders, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., each contributing $2,000 to Morelle, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., giving $5,000 to Singletary.
Like those districts, Pennsylvania’s 12th was also deep blue in 2020. Back then, under the previous map, the district’s main city of Pittsburgh was part of the 18th district. Pittsburgh’s county, Allegheny, also went Biden with a 20-point margin over former President Donald Trump, but Republicans are making a big push there as well. Democrat Summer Lee and Republican Mike Doyle are battling there to take the spot held by a retiring Democrat also named Mike Doyle.
According to Axios, the NRCC is investing six figures in those three districts.
Garcia claimed he was not concerned.
“The NRCC and Tom Emmer can chase windmills all day long while their endangered incumbents struggle — but the DCCC, along with outside spenders, will make sure Matt Jacobs, La’Ron Singletary, and Mike Doyle never see the halls of Congress,” he told Axios.
The NRCC’s financial push comes alongside the Congressional Leadership Fund’s ad blitz targeting key races. On Wednesday, they announced that they are pumping $11 million in new ad buys in more than a dozen congressional districts across the country.
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The super PAC, which is linked to McCarthy, is going after 16 districts in all with the new ads. Seven of those districts are ones that President Biden won by double digits in the 2020 election that are now shaping up to be close races.
“CLF continues to raise record sums which has allowed us press our advantage deeper into the map and forced Democrats into tough decisions,” CLF President Dan Conston said in a statement. “Republicans are in a great position to win the majority and we’ll continue making the investments we need in the final stretch.”
