Although last year’s midterm elections did not deliver the “red wave” that Republicans had hoped to see, the GOP was able to secure a slim majority in the House of Representatives.
Control of the chamber has allowed Republicans to take the helm of multiple committees that are now conducting investigations into the Biden administration and the federal bureaucracy.
Looking ahead to next year, House Republicans are already plotting out a course to add more seats to their majority, thus boosting their congressional power. As the National Republican Congressional Committee explained in a recent statement, more than three dozen seats currently controlled by a Democrat are in the GOP’s sights in anticipation of the upcoming campaign season.
All but two of the 37 seats will likely pit an incumbent Democrat against a Republican challenger, but the NRCC believes that they will all be competitive races that the GOP can win under the right circumstances. Two of the seats — currently held by Reps. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Katie Porter (D-CA) — will be decided with open races next year with both legislators gearing up for U.S. Senate bids.
NEW: @NRCC rolls out its initial House target list for 2024 pic.twitter.com/5U3G16pSK1
— Tal Axelrod (@talstales) March 13, 2023
More than half of the Democratic-held seats were decided last year by a margin of less than 1%. Although a handful of the targeted lawmakers won by double digits, the committee believes it can still mount successful campaigns to unseat those incumbents.
According to Rep. Richard Hudson (R-VA), the GOP is “on offense” as party leaders plan out the most advantageous course of action.
“We will grow our House majority by building strong campaigns around talented recruits in these districts who can communicate the dangers of Democrats’ extreme agenda,” explained the NRCC chairman.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is sure to be working on its own list of Republican-held seats it hopes to switch next year, but it had not released that information as of this writing.
The DCCC did, however, publish a list of Democratic lawmakers it believes will be vulnerable next year. All but one of those seats are also on the NRCC’s target list, which also includes several others that the Democratic Party does not consider at risk.
Just over four months since the last election, House Republicans are already clearly optimistic about their chances.
As Hudson advised: “These House Democrats should be shaking in their boots.”
