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The five House Democrats running for re-election in districts won by former President Trump in the 2020 presidential election face a giant hurdle this week that raises doubts about whether they could survive facing off against their Republican challengers in the November midterm elections.
The House is set for a high-stakes vote Friday on a massive social spending and taxation bill, officially known as the Inflation Reduction Act, that many economists have said would have no actual impact on inflation, and instead add to the already sky-high national debt.
No Republicans are expected to vote for the bill, while Democrats need near complete unity, including members of the “Squad,” to pass the legislation.
Fox News Digital reached out to the five Democrats in the tightest re-election races, including Rep. Tom O’Halleran, D-Ariz., Rep. Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Pa., and Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, and asked if they planned to support the legislation, or if they would be pushing for any changes to it. None of them responded.
The chamber of the House of Representatives is seen at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 28, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Cartwright, however, announced his support for the legislation this week in a press release celebrating its passage in the Senate and claiming it would reduce both inflation and the budget deficit.
“I applaud the Senate passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which will lower the cost of prescription drugs, health insurance, and energy costs while fighting inflation, reducing the deficit, and making the wealthiest corporations finally pay their fair share,” he wrote.
“This is the action the American people have been waiting for. Now that the Senate has taken action, the House will return to pass this landmark legislation – delivering for families and communities across Northeast Pennsylvania and the nation,” he later added.
Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Pa., is seen in the U.S. Capitol before a meeting of the House Democratic Caucus on Monday, August 23, 2021. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images, File)
Golden, the only House Democrat to vote against the more expansive “Build Back Better” bill last year, applauded aspects of the new bill, but told a local newspaper that he was not yet sure how he would vote.
O’Halleran, Axne and Kaptur have yet to give any indication whether they will support the bill. Democrats can only afford to lose a handful of votes before the bill would fail.
Each of the five narrowly won their races in 2020, and with Congressional Democrats and President Biden hemorrhaging popularity with the American people, many are wondering if this vote on the bill could be the final nail in the coffin for any hopes these five have in keeping their seats.
Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, is seen during a House Armed Services Committee hearing titled “Outside Perspectives on Nuclear Deterrence Policy and Posture,” in Rayburn Building on Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Republicans are poised to campaign on any Democratic politician who votes for the legislation, claiming the bill will add middle class tax hikes and blasting the funding to allow the IRS to hire 87,000 new employees in the next decade. Any vote for the bill will likely be used in campaign attack ads in the months leading up to the midterms.
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“Every Democrat who votes for this bill is kicking the middle class in the teeth with massive tax hikes and increased IRS harassment. It will cost them re-election,” said Torunn Sinclair, spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Republicans only need to flip a handful of seats to regain control of the House.
