When 44 members of the Republican delegation to the US House of Representatives go home during August recess, they will find that they aren’t alone. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is going with them, and will use radio and a variety of other techniques to chip away at their chances for re-election.
DCC is calling the campaign “Accountability August,” and it is part of its drive to gain 25 seats in 2012 and take control of the chamber back from the Republican Party. In addition to radio spots, DCCC is utilizing billboards, gas station ads, phone banks/robocalls, and feet on the ground in the form of community meetings and door-to-door efforts.
The bulk of the targets are freshman in swing districts who managed to oust Democrats in 2010. But there will be a few high-profile targets as well, headed by Republican economic plan architect Paul Ryan (R-WI).
Roll Call published a list of the targeted reps:
Rick Crawford (AR)
Tim Griffin (AR)
Paul Gosar (AZ)
Dan Lungren (CA)
Jeff Denham (CA)
Elton Gallegly (CA)
David Dreier (CA)
Gary Miller (CA)
Mary Bono Mack (CA)
Brian Bilbray (CA)
Scott Tipton (CO)
Cory Gardner (CO)
Steve Southerland (FL)
Daniel Webster (FL)
Bill Young (FL)
Vern Buchanan (FL)
David Rivera (FL)
Tom Latham (IA)
Steve King (IA)
Timothy Johnson (IL)
Bobby Schilling (IL)
Larry Bucshon (IN)
Andy Barr (KY)
Dan Benishek (MI)
Thaddeus McCotter (MI)
Erik Paulsen (MN)
Chip Cravaack (MN)
Charles Bass (NH)
Joe Heck (NV)
Randy Altschuler (NY)
Nan Hayworth (NY)
Matt Doheny (NY)
Ann Marie Buerkle (NY)
Steve Chabot (OH)
Patrick Meehan (PA)
Mike Fitzpatrick (PA)
Lou Barletta (PA)
Charlie Dent (PA)
Francisco “Quico” Canseco (TX)
Blake Farenthold (TX)
Scott Rigell (VA)
Paul Ryan (WI)
Sean Duffy (WI)
David McKinley (WV)
RBR-TVBR observation: More often than not, any congressional district represented by a freshman is automatically a target for the opposite party, the exception being when a safe seat is turned over by a long-time incumbent to fresh blood from the same party. The shifting aisle in Congress the past few cycles has provided a relatively high number of contested races, which just happens to benefit broadcasters with air time to sell.
