The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) unveiled on Tuesday a list of a dozen candidates who it believes are best positioned to either hold or flip competitive districts in 2020.

The list includes several Democratic candidates in 2018 who came up short in the general election, such as Gina Ortiz Jones, who narrowly lost to Rep. Will Hurd William Ballard HurdHillicon Valley: Oracle confirms deal with TikTok to be 'trusted technology provider' | QAnon spreads across globe, shadowing COVID-19 | VA hit by data breach impacting 46,000 veterans House approves bill to secure internet-connected federal devices against cyber threats House Democrats' campaign arm reserves .6M in ads in competitive districts MORE (R-Texas) last cycle; Hiral Tiperneni, who lost to Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.); Dan Feehan, who was defeated by Rep. Jim Hagedorn James Lee HagedornHispanic Caucus campaign arm endorses slate of non-Hispanic candidates Cook shifts 20 House districts toward Democrats Time to look at both sides of the medical ledger MORE (R-Minn.); Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, who lost to Rep. Rodney Davis Rodney Lee DavisHouse passes legislation to boost election security research House Republicans investigating California secretary of state's contract with Biden-linked firm House Democrats' campaign arm releases ads hitting 10 Republicans on health care MORE (R-Ill.); and Carolyn Long, who was defeated by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler Jaime Lynn Herrera BeutlerThis week: House returns for pre-election sprint GOP Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler advances in Washington primary House votes to curtail Insurrection Act powers MORE (R-Wash.).

New additions to the list include Rita Hart in Iowa’s 2nd District, Christina Hale in Indiana’s 5th District, Jackie Gordon in New York’s 2nd District, Eugene DePasquale in Pennsylvania’s 10th District, Jill Schupp in Missouri’s 2nd District and Wendy Davis in Texas’s 21st District.

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The committee is also backing Christy Smith, who's running to replace former Rep. Katie Hill Katherine (Katie) Lauren HillObama counsels NBA players on forming a social justice committee Republicans cast Trump as best choice for women House GOP campaign chairman insists party will win back majority MORE (D) in California's 25th District in a special election.

The list of candidates, part of the DCCC’s “Red to Blue” program, comes as Democrats find themselves playing defense in 2020. The party flipped 43 House seats in 2018 in a wave election that saw Democrats recapture a majority in the chamber.

“The strength of our candidates matters, and these 12 local leaders have shown they have what it takes to win the trust of their voters and earn their votes,” Rep. Cheri Bustos Cheryl (Cheri) Lea BustosThe Hill's Campaign Report: Biden asks if public can trust vaccine from Trump ahead of Election Day | Oklahoma health officials raised red flags before Trump rally DCCC dropping million on voter education program Clark rolls out endorsements in assistant Speaker race MORE (D-Ill.), the chairwoman of the DCCC, said in a statement. “For that reason, I am proud to add them to our battle-tested Red to Blue program.”

Reps. Pete Aguilar Peter (Pete) Ray AguilarRep. Robin Kelly enters race for Democratic caucus vice chair Pelosi seeks to put pressure on GOP in COVID-19 relief battle Races heat up for House leadership posts MORE (D-Calif.), A. Donald McEachin Aston (Donale) Donald McEachinOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Biden pledges carbon-free power by 2035 in T environment plan | Trump administration has been underestimating costs of carbon pollution, government watchdog finds | Trump to move forward with rollback of bedrock environmental law Trump to move forward with rollback of bedrock environmental law Sanders-Biden climate task force calls for carbon-free power by 2035 MORE (D-Va.) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) will serve as co-chairpeople of the “Red to Blue” program, Bustos said.

--Updated at 10:31 a.m.