Democrats Seek to Pick Up More Northeast House Seats in ‘08

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Democrats Seek to Pick Up More Northeast House Seats in ‘08
By CQ Staff | 1:12 PM; Sep. 27, 2007


Not content with the major gains they made in the Northeast in the 2006 campaign, Democratic strategists believe they can make further inroads in the region in next year’s House contests.

It might appear that the Democrats have little left to gain in the Northeast. After their blockbuster success in the 2006 midterm campaign, Democrats in the current 110th Congress hold a 68-24 advantage over Republicans in Northeastern seats — or 74 percent of the total in a region defined as including the six New England states, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware.

The Northeast was, in fact, the most fertile ground for the Democrats in their 2006 campaign for a House majority. Of the 30 seats they gained nationally in those midterm congressional elections, 11 were in the Northeast.

The Democrats’ biggest advance, in the region and nationally, came in Pennsylvania, where the party’s nominees ousted four Republican incumbents. Next in the Northeast was New York, with a three-seat Democratic gain. The Democrats did even better, proportionately, in two much less-populous New England states: A two-seat pickup in Connecticut gave the Democrats a 4-1 edge in that state’s House delegation, and the party captured both seats in New Hampshire.

To many Democratic Party adherents, the 2006 elections provided the party with its biggest breakthrough yet toward its long-sought goal of a “reverse realignment.”

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