Democrats' fail-safe plan: Go on offense

[WI_DEM]

Democratic lawmakers can rest assured: Their party is thinking creatively about how to keep its majorities in the House and Senate. And it's working hard to hold as many governorships as possible.

An emerging Democratic fail-safe plan depends on winning a handful of key congressional and gubernatorial races that could allow the party to retain power even in the face of widespread defeats. In the House, that means taking a small group of Republican-controlled seats—all within reach—that would allow Democrats to lose roughly 40 seats and still emerge with a slim majority

On the Senate side, winning just two open GOP-held Senate seats—Missouri and Kentucky—could offset an otherwise awful Election Day and possibly prevent a Republican takeover.

In governor’s races, where Democrats are facing an even tougher landscape, the Democratic Governors Association is eyeing big trophies like California, Texas and Florida – currently held by Republican governors – as targets so consequential that they could counter more numerous losses elsewhere on the map.

No one is relying on this backstop approach more heavily than the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, where Democratic House strategists predicted confidently earlier this summer that “Democrats will win at least four Republican seats.”

“As a result, the real number of seats Republicans will have to pick up to win a majority is at least 43,” a July strategy memo read, highlighting Louisiana Rep. Joseph Cao and Hawaii Rep. Charles Djou’s seats, as well as open seats in Illinois, Delaware and Florida as opportunities to take the edge off Democratic defeats.

The DCCC has only intensified its focus on takeover opportunities since then. Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who chairs the committee, was in Louisiana this week to campaign with Cao’s challenger. Democrats have also released internal polling showing Democrat Joe Garcia in a strong position to take Florida’s open 25th Congressional District, and blasted out fundraising information showing Hawaii state Sen. Colleen Hanabusa in a solid position against Djou.



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