Democrats Confirm More House Seats in Play
By JEFF ZELENY
Democrats added another 20 House seats to their list of targeted districts, officials confirmed Tuesday evening, raising the party’s commitment in television advertising for the final weeks of the campaign to more than $49 million.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee reserved a third wave of television time, one week after announcing the selection of the first two waves that identified 40 of the most vulnerable seats in the midterm elections. The latest cluster of districts includes 14 open seats, a sign that Democrats intend to expand their sights – to a degree, at least – beyond a strict defensive match.
The districts, which stretch from Arkansas to West Virginia, include five seats currently held by Republicans. It was unclear how much advertising time was being reserved in those Republican seats and whether it signaled a real commitment or a political head fake, with Democrats hoping to entice their rivals into also investing there.
The decisions, which were confirmed by party strategists on Tuesday evening, bring even more clarity to the battlefield on which the two parties will fight for control of Congress over the next three months as Republicans work to reclaim the majority.
The latest wave of races include these Congressional districts: Ark.-1, Ark.-2, Delaware-at large, Fla.-25, Hawaii-1, Ill.-10, Ind.-08, La.-2, Mass.-10, Md.-1, Mich.-1, N.H.-1, N.H.-2, Ore.-5, Pa.-7, Pa. 15, Tenn.-8, Wash.-3, Wis.-7, W.Va..-1.
In the coming weeks, Democrats intend to announce at least one more set of districts.
The National Republican Congressional Committee has not yet identified the seats where it intends to reserve television advertising time for the final weeks of the election. Party strategists say those decisions will likely be announced next month.
At the midpoint of the year, the Democratic House committee had a $17 million cash advantage over its Republican counterpart. The $49 million reserved in advertising exceeds the $34 million that the D.C.C.C. had on hand at the end of June, but party officials intend to raise the additional money – and more – over the next three months.
Even with the new round of television advertising targets, Democrats are playing defense in every corner of the country, hoping to use their fund-raising advantages to preserve their 40-seat majority in the House.
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