House Democrats are homing in on their campaign messaging for the 2024 cycle, releasing a memo outlining a slew of talking points party candidates should use against vulnerable Republicans next year.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the main fundraising arm for House Democrats, unveiled the attack plan last week, seeking to target Republicans running in districts President Joe Biden won in 2020 that were key to the GOP’s victory in last year’s midterm elections. The memo gives an early glimpse into what voter issues Democratic candidates are likely to seize on, including abortion, law enforcement, and veteran services.
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“Despite campaign promises to be independent, these vulnerable Republicans time and time again have voted in lockstep with the most extreme MAGA Members in their party to rip away women’s reproductive freedom, cut services for veterans, defund law enforcement, gut manufacturing jobs, and uphold a culture of corruption in Washington – all while ignoring the kitchen table issues like lowering costs and creating good-paying jobs,” the memo states. “Expect to see ties to extreme Republicans and these key issues in paid media against vulnerable Republicans next fall.”
The memo specifically names 18 House Republicans that were identified earlier this year as Democrats’ top targets in the 2024 elections, citing each lawmaker’s voting record along party lines. The DCCC accused the GOP lawmakers of voting on average nearly 94% of the time with “the MAGA extremists” in the party despite running on campaigns that vowed bipartisanship.
Democrats point to the GOP-led debt ceiling bill that narrowly passed the House earlier this year, triggering a weekslong negotiation with the White House to avoid a catastrophic default on the country’s loans. The initial bill passed with no Democratic support, with party leaders accusing House Republicans of cutting key services for veterans and defunding law enforcement — two key issues for GOP voters.
“Every vulnerable Republican joined extreme MAGA Republicans and voted to pass disastrous cuts to services that veterans depend on,” the memo states. “Every vulnerable Republican in the House voted to cut nearly $17 billion in funding for federal law enforcement, courts, and prisons that support public safety. This vote threatened nearly 30,000 law enforcement jobs across the country, making it harder for officers to prevent violent crimes, crack down on gun violence, and prevent terrorism.”
The memo also highlights GOP efforts to restrict access to abortion across the country, a winning issue for Democrats during the midterm elections that helped the party minimize its losses in the House.
The latest strategy also targets vulnerable Republicans by using one of their own members against them: Rep. George Santos (R-NY). Democrats are likely to use Santos’s falsehoods as campaign fodder not only against the New York freshman but also against the 17 other GOP lawmakers facing tough reelection prospects.
The memo cites a House vote earlier this year to oust Santos from Congress, during which all Republican members blocked the effort and instead moved to refer the motion to the House Ethics Committee for an investigation.
“George Santos is a liar and an indicted criminal who has disgraced his office and lied time and time again to the people of his district,” the memo states. “Instead of holding Santos accountable and cleaning up the corruption in Washington, vulnerable Republicans doubled down and voted to keep him in Congress – all so they could keep his vote in their slim majority and take his campaign money.”
House Republicans brushed off the campaign attacks, arguing the talking points fail to create a winning message.
“They could have saved us the time by issuing a one-sentence press release saying: ‘We have nothing to run on next year,’” Will Reinert, national press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee, told the Washington Examiner.
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All 435 seats are up for grabs in 2024 as Republicans seek to hold their slim majority in the lower chamber. Of these, 42 are considered competitive, with most of those held by Democrats compared to Republicans, giving the GOP a slight advantage as it prepares for the next election cycle.
However, of the 42 competitive seats, 18 are held by Republicans in districts that voted for Biden in 2020, compared to just five Democrats who must defend their seats in districts carried by former President Donald Trump. That means there are just enough vulnerable GOP-held seats to keep things competitive heading into the next election cycle.
