Donald Trump Donald John TrumpObama calls on Senate not to fill Ginsburg's vacancy until after election Planned Parenthood: 'The fate of our rights' depends on Ginsburg replacement Progressive group to spend M in ad campaign on Supreme Court vacancy MORE and the tumultuous GOP presidential race have broadened the battlefield for the House, the man in charge of winning back the majority for Democrats tells The Hill.

Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) said the turmoil in the Republican race would be a huge boost down the ballot in November and swell the number of likely Democratic pickups.

Luján stopped short of predicting the Democrats will win back the House in the 40-minute interview, however.

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“We are on offense … and we will pick up seats. … Outside of that, I don’t have my crystal ball,” he said, refusing to propose a marker for success in a chamber where Democrats are outnumbered by 58 members.

The cautious approach from the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) suggests that while Democrats view both GOP front-runner Trump and rival Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzSenate Republicans face tough decision on replacing Ginsburg Cruz: Trump should nominate a Supreme Court justice next week Renewed focus on Trump's Supreme Court list after Ginsburg's death MORE as polarizing figures who will help the party’s down-ballot chances, they’re also being careful to manage expectations in the face of daunting odds.

“Because of Trump and Cruz, the battlefield is growing, and districts that were maybe out of reach are now in reach,” Luján said from his campaign office near Capitol Hill.

Luján and the Democrats have no easy task ahead. Changes to congressional district maps — many drawn up by GOP state legislators since 2010 — have made many districts noncompetitive. Indeed, The Cook Political Report, a prominent online election handicapper, puts 205 of the 435 House seats securely in Republicans’ camp, while Democrats have 174 solid seats.

To take back House control and give Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) a second shot at being Speaker, the Democrats would need to pick up 30 seats. Only 19 GOP seats are deemed by Cook to be vulnerable.

But those analyses have shifted in Democrats’ favor in recent months, as Trump has secured his front-runner status and Cruz has emerged as the main alternative.

Smelling blood, Democrats say those two trends are no coincidence, and they’re taking every chance to not only highlight the most controversial positions of both Trump and Cruz but also link them to Republican House members they increasingly see as targets.

Luján said even if an alternative Republican candidate emerges from the July convention, the political “damage” caused by Trump and Cruz “has been done.”

“Republican House candidates are going to be inseparably tied to Donald Trump and Ted Cruz,” he said.

Toward that end, DCCC staffers are compiling lists of quotes from sitting Republicans and juxtaposing them with Trump’s most tendentious positions. Their “On-the-Origin-of-Trump” list covers issues as varied as immigration, reproductive health and the false claim that President Obama was born abroad and therefore never qualified for the presidency.

That strategy was on full display Wednesday, when Pelosi and other top Democrats emerged from their weekly caucus meeting to launch charges that conservative Republicans molded Trump in their own image.

“The fact that the Republican establishment is all of a sudden shocked at the behavior of the presidential candidates, that’s shocking, because the fact is they’re a direct reflection of statements made by members of Congress,” Pelosi said.

Trump’s campaign message has been a pugnacious one since the launch of his presidential bid last June. In his announcement speech, the businessman accused most Mexican immigrants of being rapists and other criminals, and he called for mass deportations and a seamless border wall.

He’s offended Muslims by calling for a ban on anyone of that faith entering the country. And he’s angered women for, among other statements, suggesting Megyn Kelly was menstruating during a televised debate.

White, male, working-class voters have been drawn to his no-apologies approach. But he’s alienated a long list of other demographics, and many national GOP leaders are rallying behind Cruz in hopes of preventing the billionaire businessman from winning the party’s nomination.

Luján and other Democrats are hoping to capitalize on the controversy and the division.

“The national mood being set by Trump and Cruz is one of the ugliest that we’ve ever seen,” Luján said. “It’s one of the lowest points that the GOP has ever witnessed within their party. And that only means bad results for Republicans down-ballot.”