It just keeps getting worse the House GOP as target races move off the board and more House Republicans become vulnerable
House Republicans May Be Having Their Worst Week Ever
It just keeps getting worse for the House GOP as target races move off the board and more House Republicans become vulnerable
As Republicans’ floundering response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the President’s tanking job approval numbers drag down House Republicans across the map, this will go down in history as one of the worst weeks ever for House Republicans. Here’s just a taste:
The Cook Political Report shifted 20 House races away from Republicans as House Democrats continue pushing deeper into Trump-won territory
“Republicans began the cycle hoping to pick up 18 seats to win the majority back. Now they’re just trying to avoid a repeat of 2008, when they not only lost the presidency but got swamped by Democrats’ money and lost even more House seats after losing 30 seats and control two years earlier. For the first time this cycle, Democrats have at least as good a chance at gaining House seats as Republicans on a net basis.”
Democratic Frontliners and candidates DOMINATED Republicans in fundraising during a record-breaking second quarter
House Democrats running for re-election in the most politically competitive districts intensified their fundraising advantage over Republican challengers in the second quarter, as the coronavirus pandemic complicated campaign operations for both parties.
“But 12 Republican incumbents were outraised by challengers in competitive districts: Don Young of Alaska, David Schweikert of Arizona, Ross Spano* of Florida, Rodney Davis of Illinois, Steve Watkins of Kansas, Jim Hagedorn of Minnesota, Ann Wagner of Missouri, Don Bacon of Nebraska, Jeff Van Drew* of New Jersey, Steve Chabot of Ohio, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, and Chip Roy of Texas.”
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the campaign arm for Democrats in the lower chamber, raised a whopping $39 million over the last three months, besting its previous record for the second reporting period of the year.
More than ever, health care is taking center stage on the House battlefield and Republicans still do not have a plan, besides taking away Americans’ coverage during a deadly pandemic
A new study from the Urban Institute suggests that the number of Americans relying on the ACA for coverage is growing as millions lose their jobs, and with it their employer-provided coverage, even as the Trump administration pursues a lawsuit that would overturn the law. Nearly half a million Americans signed up for ACA policies after losing health insurance coverage this year, with surges in April and May.
All of this could make the political debate over health care even more central in 2020 than it was in 2018, when Democratic promises to defend the ACA, and in particular its provisions protecting patients with preexisting conditions, were pivotal in the party’s sweeping midterm election gains.
The fight over health care is being waged at the presidential level, in all of the competitive Senate races and in House contests across the country. Democrats intend to press what they see as their advantage over Republicans, who for years have called for dismantling the health care law — voting to repeal it and supporting President Trump’s legal efforts to overturn it — while failing to agree on an alternative plan.