The Republican Party's aggressive plans to hold onto control of the House in next year's elections comes as the GOP currently only has a narrow 222-213 advantage over the Democrats, the Washington Examiner reported on Monday.
The GOP is looking to go on the offensive in the 2024 race, even though there will be 18 House Republicans defending districts that President Joe Biden carried, compared to only five Democrats representing districts that voted for former President Donald Trump in 2020.
Republicans intend to make some or all of those Democrats in Trump-won seats top targets in next year's election.
But the GOP has its work cut out for it, as top Democratic targets are also starting to emerge.
New York state, normally with a strong blue showing, was a particular disaster for House Democrats last year, as Republicans railed against a streak of shootings and other violent crimes in the state, including a series of unprovoked attacks on New York City subways, the Washington Examiner reported. The GOP argued that a Democrat-written state law that ended cash bail led to the quick release of dangerous criminal suspects.
Those GOP attacks were aided by a New York court decision last summer that struck down the congressional map drawn up by Democrats.
The replacement map, decided upon by an independent "special master," was much more competitive, and Democrats ended up winning only 15-11, a seven-seat swing away from their electoral plans with the map they wanted.
One of the Democrats' most obvious targets is freshman GOP Rep. George Santos of Long Island, who has made numerous dubious and false claims about his biography, work history, and financial status in public and private, including concerning his ancestry, education, charity work, property ownership, and crimes of which he claimed to be a victim.
Democrats also will make efforts try to win other Long Island-based districts held by freshmen Republican House members, such as Anthony D'Esposito and Nick LaLota.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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