House Democrats are looking to expand the map well beyond the Republican-held districts Hillary Clinton won in 2016. There are more than twice as many names on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Red to Blue list as on that Clinton-won-Republican-held list, in fact, and:
Those dynamics mean legitimate House races in districts as varied as Salt Lake City, where Mayor Ben McAdams is aiming to unseat Rep. Mia Love in a district Trump carried by 7 points (Love won in 2016 by 12 points.) to West Virginia coal country, where Democratic state Sen. Richard Ojeda voted for Trump and now is aiming for an open seat in a district the president carried by 50 points. (Outgoing Republican Rep. Evan Jenkins last won by 44.)
It’s a stunning turn two years removed from just 16 House races coming within 5 points, with an average victory margin of 37 points across all 435 districts.
Conor Lamb’s special election win in Pennsylvania in March and last week’s still-uncalled Ohio special election, where Republican Troy Balderson has a razor-thin lead, show that seats previously thought out of reach could be in play come November. Thanks, Trump?