The campaign arm for House Democrats rolled out its list of offensive targets for the 2022 midterms as it gears up to defend its razor-thin majority in the chamber.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) announced it plans to play offense in 21 GOP-held districts and one open district currently held by a Democrat as it looks to change its fortunes from 2020, when Democrats lost more than a dozen incumbents in a cycle in which they were expected to gain seats.
“Every single Republican on this list voted against putting checks in pockets and shots in arms, and we’re going to make sure voters in their district know it,” said DCCC Chairman Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), referencing GOP votes against President Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.
“The DCCC is prepared to protect our majority by recruiting compelling candidates and empowering their campaigns with the resources they need to draw the contrast between Democrats’ record of fighting for the middle class and Republicans’ toxic brand of defending conspiratorial insurrectionists and opposing direct relief for working families,” he added.
In a sign of the defensive footing Democrats find themselves on, the list of 22 offensive targets follows the DCCC’s release of a list of 32 members it will prioritize defending.
The 22 offensive targets include a slate of traditional swing districts as well as a number of seats Democrats were upset in last year.
Among the targets are four competitive suburban California seats that Democrats lost in 2020. Other swing districts on the list include Iowa’s 1st and 2nd congressional districts, New York’s 2nd and 22nd congressional districts, and districts near major cities such as Philadelphia, Indianapolis and Omaha.
Also on the list are Florida’s 26th and 27th congressional districts, two seats Democrats lost in surprise defeats in 2020 in the southern part of the state.
The release of the target list comes as Democrats prepare to defend the House after winning the chamber in 2018. Prognosticators had expected Democrats to win as many as 15 GOP-held seats, only for the party to lose over a dozen incumbents. The current balance of the House will sit at 218 Democrats and 212 Republicans after Rep.-elect Julia Letlow (R-La.) is sworn in next Tuesday, though a handful of special elections throughout the year will change that balance.