House GOP goes on campaign spending spree in fight to grow majority

House Republicans’ campaign arm is getting ready to pour millions of dollars into advertising buys in nearly two dozen battleground districts to keep and grow their majority in the November elections.

Of those 22 districts, 13 are held by Democratic lawmakers and ripe for flipping, according to the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Republicans are particularly focused on five races where Democratic incumbents represent districts that former President Donald Trump previously won. In a memo, the NRCC said it would reserve $45.7 million in television and digital advertising, with a quarter of that advertising money set aside for those five crucial races.

The target districts are held by Reps. Jared Golden of Maine, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, Nancy Peltola of Alaska and Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania.

“The NRCC committed from Day One to not just hold our majority, but go on offense to grow our majority – today we are putting our money where our mouth is,” said NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson of North Carolina.

Tom Erickson, the Independent Expenditure director for the NRCC, described the seats as “must-win” races for the GOP. He said that the emphasis on those districts was based on the strength of the Republican challengers.

Each of the Republican candidates, save for former Trump administration foreign policy adviser Joe Kent who is locked in a rematch with Ms. Perez, has been endorsed by Mr. Trump.

Mr. Hudson and the NRCC believe that Mr. Trump’s name on the top of the ticket will act as the tide that raises all ships in their push to maintain and grow the GOP majority. On the other side of the equation, they hope President Biden will diminish Democratic candidates’ stock among voters.

“Trump-district Democrats spent years defending Biden’s mental acuity and still won’t say he isn’t fit to serve,” said Will Reinert, a spokesperson for the NRCC. “They might as well be screaming to voters that they’re just like every other radical Democrat — putting an extreme political agenda above the good of the country.”

However, House Democrats are mounting a fierce fight. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is reserving $28 million in advertising across 21 battleground states.

Democratic strategists are trying to use Mr. Trump’s biggest policy weaknesses, like his self-proclaimed involvement in overturning Roe v. Wade, as a weapon against vulnerable Republicans.

The DCCC is targeting just as many vulnerable Republicans who are in districts Mr. Biden won in 2020. Democrats need to net only five seats to take over the chamber in November.

“House Democrats have numerous pathways to take back the majority,” DCCC spokesperson Viet Shelton said. “There are 16 vulnerable House Republicans in districts the President won in 2020 who have failed to deliver for the people in their districts, choosing instead to cater to the far-right fringes of their party and bend the knee to Donald Trump.”