Speaker McCarthy targets ‘toss-up’ New Mexico district in bid to expand GOP House majority

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s fight to expand the slim GOP majority in the House in the 2024 election took him Monday to Las Cruces, New Mexico, where he served as a “special guest” at former Rep. Yvette Herrell’s campaign kickoff rally.

The visit marked Mr. McCarthy’s first foray onto the campaign trail in the election cycle and brought him to one of the most competitive congressional districts in the country.

Democrat Gabe Vasquez ousted Ms. Herrell in 2022 by less than 1,400 votes. Ms. Herrell filed the statement for her 2024 candidacy weeks later.

“Yvette Herrell is a fearless conservative leader — and New Mexico needs her back in Congress,” Mr. McCarthy said in a statement before the event. “During her time in Washington, Yvette always put her constituents first: working hard to deliver results for New Mexico families and standing up for fiscal responsibility, free markets, and constitutional rights.”

Mr. McCarthy, California Republican, is looking for reinforcements on Capitol Hill after the GOP flipped the House in the 2022 midterms but emerged with a smaller-than-anticipated majority.

Republicans hold a 222-to-213 seat edge in the House over Democrats, leaving Mr. McCarthy with little wiggle room to pass legislation.

The tight majority also created headaches for him in the race to become speaker of the House. Mr. McCarthy was elected speaker on the 15th ballot after a drawn-out fight among GOP lawmakers. 

The financial support Mr. McCarthy provided House Republicans over the years helped him secure the speaker’s gavel.

The non-partisan Cook Political Report ranks the race in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District as a toss-up.

Mr. McCarthy plans to contribute $10,000 to Ms. Herrell’s campaign, and the event that he headlines is expected to bring in more than $100,000.

The sprawling 2nd Congressional District in New Mexico runs across the southern half of the state and includes Roswell and part of Albuquerque.

Ms. Herrell, a former state lawmaker, won the seat in the 2020 election. 

Mr. McCarthy’s visit to Las Cruces drew a protest from a liberal group called BlueCD2.

“We want to show them in no uncertain terms that Yvette’s brand of politics isn’t what District 2 wants or needs,” the group said in an online post that referred to Ms. Herrell as a “MAGA Republican.”