GOP deploying ad dollars, leaders to districts once considered safe Republicans discovering playing field has expanded
WASHINGTON – Republicans are scrambling to save suddenly vulnerable candidates in congressional districts that President Donald Trump won in 2016, as Democrats have charged deeper into conservative strongholds in their bid to win the House.
On Tuesday, the National Republican Congressional Committee plans to launch an ad campaign in a South Carolina district that Trump carried by 13 percentage points, while House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., intends to campaign for a Kentucky incumbent in a district that went to Trump by 15 points.
The last-minute moves follow decisions by Republican groups to toss political lifelines to House candidates in Georgia, Florida, Virginia and Washington state, all in districts where Trump was victorious.
Republicans are weighed down by an unpopular president, and the maneuvering reflects the challenging map that has forced GOP leaders to triage their candidates ahead of the Nov. 6 vote. Democrats are favored to win the House majority, according to nonpartisan analysts. They need a net gain of 23 seats.
Republicans believed the contentious confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and concerns about the migrant caravan headed toward the U.S.-Mexico border energized voters in conservative districts and fueled their attacks casting Democrats as an angry mob.
But now some worry that the power of those arguments will fade over time, particularly as Trump and his allies face criticism in the wake of the deadly massacre Saturday at a Pittsburgh synagogue and mail bombs sent to prominent Democrats, liberal donors Tom Steyer and George Soros, and CNN. Critics have accused Trump and some backers of fostering an environment for far-right extremism.
The past week “probably reminds everybody that the rhetoric is overheated on both sides. So to that degree, it takes a little steam out of the Republicans’ argument,” said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., a Ryan ally.
As for the House map, Cole said there is no question that “if you’re a Democrat, you prefer a battlefield that’s expanding at the end.” He added, “To some degree, they have that.”
There are 25 districts the Republicans hold that Hillary Clinton won in 2016, giving Democrats ample space to capitalize on anger with Trump and his party as they pursue the majority. They have also pressed Republicans on redder turf.
Ryan will be in Kentucky on Tuesday to campaign for Republican Rep. Garland “Andy” Barr, whose 6th District stretches from Lexington to more rural areas. Former fighter pilot Amy McGrath has given Democrats hope of flipping the seat, despite the district’s naturally conservative tilt.
Meanwhile, the NRCC plans to launch ads Tuesday in South Carolina’s 1st District, an area along the coast including Charleston that has leaned conservative in recent federal elections. But Republican nominee Katie Arrington has had trouble putting away her Democratic opponent, Joe Cunningham.