Reps. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) (L) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) are among the 11 swing district Democrats who have thrown their support behind an impeachment inquiry. Both are posting strong fundraising numbers so far this cycle.

National Republicans see impeachment as self-destructive for House Democrats running in swing districts. But some of those frontline members are using impeachment to cash in with donors as House Democrats approach 2020 with far more money than Republicans.

Of the 17 House Democrats in races rated as toss-up by the Cook Political Report, 11 have thrown their support behind an impeachment inquiry. Those members, all of whom represent districts carried by President Donald Trump in 2016, have had no issues bringing in cash.

These pro-impeachment freshmen have so far raised an average of nearly $1.7 million through the end of September, based on reports filed Tuesday. That’s far more than the average House member’s haul of about $787,500. They haven’t had to splurge to get there, holding an average of $1.3 million cash on hand.

The incumbent advantage is working well for team blue so far. Through the end of September, Democrats running for House had a combined $292 million on hand compared to Republicans’ $208 million.

Some vulnerable Democrats are avoiding the subject of impeachment. Others are embracing it, noting their support for impeachment in fundraising appeals to supporters.

Rep. Max Rose (D-N.Y.), whose Staten Island-centric swing district went for Trump by 10 points, ran a series of Facebook ads defending his decision to “defend the Constitution” and trashing his Republican opponents.

“First of all, I am not concerned at all by the NRCC or anyone that wants to try to challenge me because they already tried once and we kicked their ass,” Rose tells reporters in his campaign video, just before calling his opponents “absolute jokes.”

Another vulnerable member who joined the impeachment party late, Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) urged supporters to back her campaign due to Republican attacks.

“As a Navy Commander, I swore an oath to defend this country from enemies both foreign and domestic,” Luria says in a campaign ad. “That’s why I took a political risk and supported impeaching Donald Trump.”

Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), a fellow Virginian who joined Luria and other freshman Democrats in a video interview with CNN about impeachment, also ran ads on the subject to raise cash.

“This week, national Republican groups started running attack ads against me for standing up for the Constitution and our nation’s security,” Spanberger says in one ad.

Those vulnerable members in ultra-red districts haven’t been as aggressive. Rep. Ben McAdams (D-Utah), a top target of Trump, instead went after the Trump administration’s rollback of environmental regulations in fundraising appeals.

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Some of the notable members to avoid endorsing impeachment include Reps. Anthony Brindisi (D-N.Y.), Kendra Horn (D-Okla.) and Lucy McBath (D-Ga.). Regardless, they’re still being targeted over impeachment by House Republicans’ top super PAC.

Republicans are on the attack — but will it work?

Republican groups continue to say that impeachment will hurt frontline Democrats in red-leaning districts, and they are running early ad blitzes to force the issue.

Pro-Trump “dark money” group America First Policies announced a $1 million ad campaign targeting 28 Democrats in swing districts over impeachment. The Republican National Committee recently targeted more than 60 incumbent Democrats — including the most vulnerable Democrats — with a $2 million TV and digital ad buy focusing on impeachment.

Democratic dark money group House Majority Forward countered by airing ads backing 11 vulnerable Democrats over their “legislative accomplishments.” The ads do not mention impeachment.

Vice President Mike Pence is traveling to House districts around the country to attack vulnerable Democrats over impeachment. He recently traveled to Iowa to support Republican David Young in his bid to take back his old seat from Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa).

Young is one of the few Republican challengers with money to spend. The former member has nearly $567,000 cash on hand, less than half of Axne’s total but still better than most Republican challengers at this stage.

Max Rose’s likely opponent, Staten Island assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, is the top fundraiser among Republican challengers. She’s raised $757,000 and has $600,000 on hand, compared to Rose’s nearly $1.7 million in the bank.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) has emerged as a top target of Republican groups. But the former Department of Defense official has a $1.7 million head start over her eventual opponent — and she just got her first major challenger in early October.

Meanwhile, most of the most vulnerable Republicans have already announced they will retire at session’s end. Those who plan to defend their seats don’t have much money to speak of.

Scott Perry (R-Pa.) has raised less than $614,000 to defend his redistricted seat. Swing district Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who won by 2 points in 2018, has raised just over $1 million and has about $588,000 on hand.

Some moderate Republicans have found themselves playing defense over impeachment, which has become more popular in recent weeks following revelations that Trump urged Ukrainain President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate his potential 2020 opponent. Trump doubled down by telling reporters China should investigate former Vice President Joe Biden — and his allies are sticking by a message that the president did nothing wrong.



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