2020 House races: The House seats Democrats and GOP are trying to flip in 2020 By Aaron Navarro
– CONGRESS- HOUSE-CLEANING
Here are some of the most interesting and competitive House races to watch:
Oklahoma: 5th District
Incumbent: Kendra Horn (D)
Challengers:
R-Stephanie Bice, R Terry Neese (Primary on June 30, nine total challengers)
Republicans are holding their primary on June 30, and the top two fundraisers in the field are businesswoman Terry Neese and state Senator Stephanie Bice. Horn maintains a massive fundraising advantage and the largest county, Oklahoma County, which Horn won in 2018, is seeing shifting demographics that favor Democrats.
South Carolina: 1st District
Incumbent: Joe Cunningham (D)
Challengers: Nancy Mace, Katherine Landing (Primary on June 9, four total challengers)
In 2020, the Republican challengers are continuing to promote their loyalty to the president. State representative Nancy Mace, who leads the Republican field in fundraising, previously worked on the Trump campaign as a field director.
There may also be some impact from the surprisingly competitive Senate race between powerful Republican incumbent Lindsey Graham and Democrat Jaime Harrison.
New Mexico: 2nd District
Incumbent: Xochitl Torres Small (D)
Challengers: Claire Chase, Yvette Herrell, Chris Mathys (Primary on June 2)
The three Republican candidates have started to build up a combative primary, filled with litmus tests on each candidate’s loyalty to the president.
Georgia: 6th District
Incumbent: Lucy McBath (D)
Challengers: Karen Handel, Mykel Lynn Barthelemy, Blake Harbin, Joe Profit, Paulette Smith (Primary on June 9)
While she’s far ahead of the field in fundraising, Handel will first have to get through four other Republicans, who have argued she is not the candidate to win back the district. Handel has been endorsed by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, the top three House Republican members and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who previously represented the seat.
Georgia: 7th District
Incumbent: Open
Challengers: Carolyn Bordeaux (D), Renee Unterman (R), Dr. Richard Dean McCormick (R), Lynne Homrich (R) (Primary on June 9, 14 total candidates)
GOP Congressman Ron Woodall has been in office since 2010, but after a razor-thin reelection in 2018, announced his retirement in February 2019.
Among the Republican candidates are state Senator Renee Unterman, Dr. Richard Dean McCormick and former Home Depot executive Lynne Homrich
Illinois: 13th District
Incumbent: Rodney Davis (R)
Challenger: Betsy Dirksen Londrigan (D)
In 2018, Congressman Rodney Davis beat Democrat Betsy Dirksen Londrigan by less than 1%. Londrigan is running again .
New York: 22nd District
Incumbent: Anthony Brindisi (D)
Challengers: Claudia Tenney (R), Georgia Phillips (R) (Primary on June 23)
Cook Political Report: Toss-up
Brindisi was able to win his Republican leaning upstate district by focusing on his moderate profile, becoming the first Democrat to flip the seat in 60 years. He previously served as a state assemblyman representing Utica, New York, the largest city in the congressional district.
California: 21st District
Incumbent: T.J. Cox (D)
Challenger: David Valadao (R)
Cox had one of the closest midterm wins, beating incumbent Republican Congressman David Valadao by less than 1,000 votes. Valadao is running again in 2020 and the March 3 primaries showed his support is still there, as he lead Cox by 11 points in the jungle primary.
IOWA: All
(Primary on June 2)
All four Congressional seats in the state are expected to be in play this cycle, with two freshman Democrats, one controversial Republican incumbent and one open seat.
In Iowa’s 1st District, state Representative Ashley Hinson is trying to unseat freshman Democrat Abby Finkenauer. Hinson is a Cedar Rapids TV anchor and has raised $1.8 million this cycle, $1 million less than Finkenauer.
In the Southeast portion of the state, the 2nd District, the seat is left open by Democrat Dave Loebsack, who is retiring after seven terms. Democrats have coalesced around Rita Hart, a 2018 lieutenant governor nominee who also served in the state senate for 6 years. The leading Republicans include Bobby Schilling, a former Quad City-area Illinois Congressman, and state senator Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who ran against Loebsack in 2014.
A rematch is set in the 3rd District, currently held by freshman Democrat Cindy Axne. Former Republican Congressman David Young narrowly lost to Axne by 2 points, and announced his 2020 campaign a year ago. Young has received the support of several of Iowa’s former representatives in his bid for the Des Moines area district, though still has to face Axne’s $2.6 million cash on hand.
Lastly, Republican Congressman Steve King is facing two formidable opponents on both sides in Iowa’s 4th District. GOP State Senator Randy Feenstra has outraised King, who was notably kicked off his House committees last year in a rebuke to his comments about white supremacy.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has endorsed Feenstra running against King. Democrat J.D. Scholten has picked up early support from the national party.
TEXAS
House Republicans have the two flipped seats on their target list. House Republicans like their candidate in Texas’ 7th District, West Point graduate Wesley Hunt, who is trying to try and unseat freshman Democrat Lizzie Fletcher.
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy in particular was an advocate for Hunt. Fletcher, like many other House Democrats in competitive districts, has enjoyed a strong quarter-after-quarter in fundraisin.
Republicans have a runoff incoming in Texas’ 22nd and the 23rd to filter out their eventual candidate. After three terms of close margins of victory, Republican Will Hurd’s massive Texas 23rd District was already a top priority for Democrats, even before he ended up announcing his retirement. The 2018 Democratic candidate, Gina Ortiz Jones, is running again and has built a substantial war chest with $2.3 million.
Republicans have supported candidates like Genevieve Collins in Texas’ 32nd and Beth Van Duyne in Texas’ 24th. Another primary to watch here is in Texas’ 13th District, where former White House physician Ronny Jackson is in a Republican runoff against Josh Winegarner.
Honorable mentions
Maine’s 2nd District, represented by Congressman Jared Golden, is another one of those “ruby red” districts Republicans are targeting because of Mr. Trump’s double-digit win in 2016. His main challengers, state Senator Eric Brakey and former State Representative Dale Crafts, have a combined $300,000 cash on hand, compared to Golden’s $1.7 million.
As a Democrat in 2018, Jeff Van Drew flipped New Jersey’s 2nd District by 7 points. Democratic candidates Brigid Callahan Harrison and Amy Kennedy are currently running to unseat Van Drew..
In Michigan’s 13th District, Detroit City Council president Brenda Jones is trying to beat Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib in their August 4 Democratic primary. Jones, who entered the race in late March, lost to Tlaib in their 2018 primary matchup by only 900 votes.
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