dccc.org

TO: Interested Parties FR: DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján RE: 20 Weeks Out From Election Day DT: June 19, 2018

With twenty weeks until Election Day, Democrats are in the strongest position to date to win back the House of Representatives. More than half of the primary elections have taken place, and in districts across the country, grassroots Democrats have nominated highly qualified candidates with impressive records of service, compelling biographies and deep ties to their distric

ts. These nominees provide exceptional matchups for the general election, where they’ll

face vulnerable House Republicans struggling to escape the dark cloud of a historically unpopular agenda. The primaries have also revealed a massive surge in Democratic voter participation. In key districts in New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas, Kentucky and California, Democrats have turned out in significantly higher numbers than in 2014 primaries

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the last midterm. In some places, like Iowa, turnout has exceeded 2016 presidential primary and caucus levels. Voters are excited to vote for small business owners, veterans, CIA officers, non-profit executives, and a diverse new brand of Democratic candidates. Robust primaries have energized the Democratic base, built a powerful volunteer infrastructure and introduced first-time candidates. Voters know that the midterms are the most critical opportunity to fight back against the Washington Republican agenda that threatens so many Americans, and the turnout reflects that. Republican incumbents have nothing positive to run on and nowhere to hide. House Republicans stand beside Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, Corey Stewart and others as lead actors in a Republican-controlled Washington that has failed and betrayed the American people and future generations. This has led to a historic number of retirements, including the sitting Speaker of the House. For those Republicans running for re-election, these influences mean that independents and moderate Republican voters needed to win in swing districts are moving further out of reach by the day.

PLAYING TO WIN

House Democrats are taking that momentum and energy and playing to win. Just this month in California, the DCCC and our grassroots allies successfully nominated Democrats in every Republican-held district in California that Secretary Clinton won. The threat of shutouts in multiple districts loomed, but the DCCC made long-term, strategic investments and took decisive action while national Republicans sat on their hands. Democratic

primary voters are unified around the goal of winning back the House, and they’ve