Tuesday Primaries Kick Off Crucial Stretch For House Dems
By Cameron Joseph | May 15, 2018 6:00 am
House Democrats are girding themselves for a crucial stretch of primaries beginning Tuesday that could make or break their chances at a majority — and have party strategists worried they could blow some big opportunities.
Key battles in Pennsylvania and Nebraska, as well as contests in Oregon and Idaho, will get decided this week that could dramatically alter the contours of the House map. They’ll be followed in quick succession by elections in 20 other states over the coming month that will pit a number of establishment-favored Democrats against upstart challengers, with key races from California to Texas to Maine.
The biggest House contests on Tuesday come in suburban territory crucial to Democrats’ chances at retaking the House. Democrats will pick their nominees to face Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and for another open seat near Philadelphia in Pennsylvania’s newly redrawn congressional map, and decide whether to give former Rep. Brad Ashford (D-NE) the right to a rematch after he lost a close election to Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) in 2016.
Nebraska
Ashford is favored in his race against left-wing challenger and nonprofit executive Kara Eastman in Omaha. National Democrats are excited about his return — he overcame a terrible 2014 cycle to defeat a GOP incumbent and nearly held on last year against Bacon, another tough campaigner — and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is backing his primary bid, the only one of this week’s races they’ve publicly stepped into. Eastman’s team argues her support of single-payer health insurance is an asset — “Both Democrats and Republicans need health insurance,” campaign spokesperson Heather Aliano said, before arguing base enthusiasm matters — but national Democrats say if Eastman wins they might not have a shot at the seat, since a district where a number of jobs are dependent on insurance giants headquartered in the city.
more (about the primaries in Pennsylvania)
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/tuesday-primaries-kick-off-crucial-stretch-for-house-dems