Democrats are a handful of seats away from a majority, and the battlefield is narrower than usual after the latest round of redistricting. Democrats hold 213 seats in the House to 218 for Republicans, with four vacancies.
Much of the battle is expected to come down to California and New York, which are home to most of the Republican-held House districts that Joe Biden carried in 2020. But they are in reliably blue states that probably won’t be competitive statewide at the top of the ticket. Though the DCCC included them in its digital spending, the committee emphasized that its initial broadcast reservations are tailored to states with competitive races at the top of the ticket.
The committee said it is investing early in advertising on streaming platforms such as Hulu, a strategy that “aligns with the new realities of how and where voters are consuming information.”
“This approach ensures that we are equipped to effectively elevate the threat of GOP extremism and reach the voters who will decide the battle for the people’s House,” Julie Merz, the DCCC’s executive director, said in a statement.
The DCCC’s GOP counterpart, the National Republican Congressional Committee, has not announced its initial ad reservations yet. The DCCC has been building a bigger war chest this election cycle, ending April with $75.9 million cash on hand compared with $55.9 million for the NRCC.
Arizona leads the way with $2.8 million in broadcast reservations in the Phoenix and Tucson markets, probably to target Republican Reps. David Schweikert and Juan Ciscomani. Michigan is close behind with $2.7 million in broadcast ad time in the Detroit and Lansing markets, which cover the battleground district that Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D) is leaving to run for Senate. And $2.5 million is going to Ohio’s Toledo and Cleveland markets, where Democrats are defending Reps. Marcy Kaptur and Emilia Strong Sykes.
The other broadcast reservations cover familiar terrain in recent House majority fights. For example, the committee is investing $1.8 million across three media markets in Maine, apparently to defend Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, who represents a district that Donald Trump won in 2020. And $1.1 million is tabbed for Omaha, where Democrats are targeting GOP Rep. Don Bacon in a district that Biden carried in 2020.
Such reservations are initial and can change as the election nears and strategists reassess the battlefield.
The NRCC argued that the DCCC’s broadcast reservations showed Democrats are mostly on defense.
“Extreme House Democrats are waving the white flag and abandoning their dreams of a House majority,” NRCC spokesperson Will Reinert said in a statement. “That’s the only way to explain their measly reservation on offense — a tacit admission that Speaker Hakeem Jeffries is a fading pipe dream that will never be reality.”
The DCCC did not identify the specific markets for the digital ad reservations but said they would be made in a list of 21 states that “represent the majority of the House battlefield, and target key constituencies including Hispanic, African American, and AAPI voters.” The 21 states include the eight where the DCCC is also making broadcast reservations.
The other states with digital reservations include Texas, where Democrats are defending Rep. Vicente Gonzalez in the predominantly Hispanic Rio Grande Valley. They are also hoping to unseat neighboring GOP Rep. Monica De La Cruz.
The main super PACs focused on House races — the Democrats’ House Majority PAC and the GOP’s Congressional Leadership Fund — have already announced nine-figure advertising plans for the fall, with large broadcast reservations in California and New York. Unlike candidates and party committees, they can raise unlimited amounts of money and are usually the first to secure fall reservations.
