Jewish House Candidates Bolstered By GOP Spending Cuts In Swing Races
Image by Nikki Casey
A number of Jewish Democratic challengers running for Congress have seen their chances increase with national Republican groups withdrawing financial support and all but conceding the races.
With less a month before the Nov. 6 vote, the GOP is making tough choices to try and hold their losses to fewer than 23 seats, which would ensure they maintain their slim majority in the House. Organizations like the National Republican Congressional Committee have either cancelled or not made expected ad buys for the final month of the election in several swing areas, according to multiple reports.
The Republicans appear resigned to lose several races where a crop of Jewish candidates have excelled at fundraising and campaigning.
The NRCC is not spending any funds in October to hold an Orange County district where Mike Levin is running to replace retiring GOP Rep. Darrell Issa, and has yet to run a planned ad against Susan Wild, who is vying for a redistricted eastern Pennsylvania seat, Bloomberg reported on Oct. 10.
Republicans have also withdrawn support for incumbent Mike Bishop, who is trying to hold a suburban Michigan district against former Obama administration security advisor Elissa Slotkin, according to The New York Times.
The Forward is projecting an additional three to four Jewish-held seats in the House based on current polling.
EXPLORE ALL THE RACES WITH JEWISH CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES IN OUR INTERACTIVE MAP
Part of the reason is not only a projected “blue wave” in November, but a number of strong Jewish candidates running in swing districts outside areas with major Jewish populations, like South Florida and the New York City metro area.
Entrepreneur Dean Phillips has the edge in a suburban Minneapolis race; Navy vet Elaine Luria has been bolstered by a ballot fraud scandal involving incumbent Rep. Scott Taylor in Virginia Beach; and Kim Schrier is within striking distance of Dino Rossi in a Seattle-adjacent district.
Non-partisan forecasters like Inside Elections are projecting Democrats pick up at least 23 seats, though most analysts were still measuring the impact of the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court hearings.
Contact Ben Fractenberg at fractenberg@forward.com or on Twitter, @fractenberg
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