The National Republican Congressional Committee announced Monday morning it put U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) on its target list.
The First Congressional District is one of 26 on the GOP’s shortlist in the upcoming midterm elections, a status boosted by the likelihood that Pappas will enter the race to fill the U.S. Senate vacancy being left by Jeanne Shaheen’s retirement next year.
“House Republicans are in the majority and on offense,” said NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson. “Meanwhile, vulnerable House Democrats have been hard at work demonstrating they are painfully out of touch with hardworking Americans. Republicans are taking the fight straight to these House Democrats in their districts, and we will unseat them next fall.”
Polls show that, both in New Hampshire and nationally, the Democratic Party is more unpopular than at any time in modern history. A recent NHJournal poll of Granite State voters found Republicans held a slim edge over Democrats on the key question of which party “cares the most about the issues most important to the average American.”
However, history shows Democrats hold an advantage in New Hampshire’s federal elections. Republicans have only won one federal race here since 2010 — in the First Congressional District — and the Cook Political Report has labeled Pappas’ district “likely Democrat.”
And when the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released its list of “Frontline” members — those in particularly competitive districts — on March 5, Pappas wasn’t included.
But those rankings could change if Pappas runs for the Senate and creates an open-seat race.
Republicans are clinging to a tiny majority in the U.S. House, and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is hoping to break the historic pattern of the party out of power picking up seats. There are currently 13 Democrats in Donald Trump-won districts, but just three Republicans representing districts carried by Kamala Harris.
The Democratic group Navigator Research polled swing congressional districts and found voters believe Democrats are out of touch. Just 27 percent of independents in these battleground districts believe Democrats are focused on helping them, while 55 percent said they’re focused on others.
Only 39 percent of all voters in these districts think Democrats have the right priorities, while 69 percent said. Democrats are “too focused on being politically correct.”
