'Democrats are on offense': House Dems' campaign arm adds 5 seats to target list
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the campaign arm of House Democrats, said on Tuesday that it is adding five seats to its list of Republican-held districts that it is targeting to flip in the 2026 midterm elections.
The committee, which says it is adding districts won by President Donald Trump in 2024 by 13% or less, is arguing that recent Democratic performances in special elections shows a "sustained, dramatically positive political environment" for Democrats.
"Democrats are on offense, and our map reflects the fact that everyday Americans are tired of Republicans’ broken promises and ready for change in Congress," DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene, of Washington, said in a statement.
The five districts added to the DCCC's "Districts in Play" list -- which now has 44 districts -- include Colorado's 5th Congressional District, currently represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank; and Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District, currently held by Republican U.S. Rep. Brad Finstad.
The additions to the list also include Montana’s 1st Congressional District, currently held by Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke. Democrats have separately been highlighting smokejumper Sam Forstag’s entrance into the race as offering the party a notable outsider candidate. Forstag faces Ryan Busse, Montana’s 2024 Democratic candidate for governor, in the primary.
Virginia’s 5th Congressional District, which has also been added to the list, is currently held by Republican U.S. Rep. John McGuire, but could be redrawn in the coming months by the state’s Democratic-controlled legislature to allow Democrats to flip it -- although the mid-decade redistricting gambit still faces roadblocks and uncertainty.
The other new district added as a target by the DCCC, South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, is opening up as incumbent GOP U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace is running for governor.
The DCCC says it has launched "nominee funds" for the target districts to support the eventual Democratic nominee in each one. The group rarely endorses candidates during primaries.
While recent special election results and some polling, which have shown a lead for Democrats on a generic congressional ballot, have given Democrats some room for optimism, they’re still set to face a challenge in trying to flip the five new target seats, all of which the Cook Political Report rates as leaning Republican or solidly Republican.
The National Republican Congressional Committee, the DCCC’s GOP counterpart, also has its own large target list of Democratic-held seats that Republicans are aiming to flip in the midterms.
Democrats will need to net three seats in the U.S. House to flip the chamber, if all of the three current vacancies in the House are filled by members who belong to the same political party as the former incumbents. Republicans, meanwhile, hope to expand their majority in the U.S. House.
"National Democrats are daydreaming while the ground collapses beneath them," National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Mike Marinella told ABC News in a statement on Tuesday, adding, "the battleground favors Republicans."
