House Democrats move to protect most vulnerable incumbents

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has named 14 members to its Frontline program, designed to protect vulnerable incumbents.

{mosads}The list is much shorter than in past cycles, an indication of the shrinking House map and a result of House Democrats not holding many GOP-leaning districts after having lost 13 seats in 2014. The DCCC began the 2014 election cycle with 26 members on its Frontline program.

Many of the this cycle’s Frontline members are battle-tested, however, having been through difficult elections in previous years. And Democrats are hoping that most will be able to win reelection in order for them to cut into a GOP majority that’s the largest since World War II.

“Each one of these members knows what it takes to win tough elections: working hard, standing up for your district, and not taking anything for granted,” DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján said in a statement. “You don’t add by subtracting, so the success of our Members is integral to our plan to stay on offense in 2016.”

Here’s the full list of members:

Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.)

Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.)

Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.)

Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Calif.)

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.)

Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.)

Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.)

Rep. Gwen Graham (D-Fla.)

Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.)

Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.)

Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.)

Rep. Brad Ashford (D-Neb.)

Rep. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.)

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.)