A Plan to Win Back the House [View All]

I've heard many, many posters on DU say that the Democrats can't take back the House in 2004. However, I feel that we can take it back, it just will be very difficult. Here are some ways we could take it back:

Target the Freshmen
Democrats did poorly in the 2002 elections. However, we have the opportunity in 2004 to rectify this by targeting certain freshmen. Max Burns (GA-12) is in a Democratic district that doesn't reflect his voting record at all. We have to win this one in 2004. Reps. Phil Gingrey (GA-11), Rick Renzi (AZ-1), and Jim Gerlach all barely won in 2004 and should be prime targets in 2004. Additionally, we need to target Reps. Steve Pearce (NM-2), Mike Rogers (AL-3), John Kline (MN-2), and Bob Beauprez (CO-7), all freshman who we could take down in 2004.

Actually Beat the Perennial Targets
Each year, we run races against certain representatives, yet never pull off a victory. In 2004, we have to make a concentrated effort to win these seats. Rep. Anne Northup (KY-3) barely wins each election cycle in the only Democratic seat in Kentucky. Rep. John Hostettler (IN-8) has a top tier challenger in Jon Jennings this year, and we should be able to pull off that seat. Rep. Jim Leach (IA-2) represents the most Democratic seat in Iowa. In a presidential election year, we should be able to win here. Rep. Rob Simmons (CT-2) district may be the most Democratic district held by a Republican in the country. We have to take him down. Re-redistricting in New Mexico could give us Rep. Heather Wilson's (NM-1) seat. Economic unrest in North Carolina should make Rep. Robin Hayes (NC-8) vulnerable. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (WV-2) should also be susceptible for economic reasons, as long as we don't nominate Jim Humphreys again.

Open Seats
At this point, there aren't a great majority of open seats out there. The most prominent of these is PA-15. We as Democrats will have to defend several open seats (PA-13 and possibly LA-7).

The No-One-Predicted-It-Loss
Each election cycle, a representative loses that no one thought would (2000-Rep. David Minge, 2002-Rep. Felix Grucci). In 2004, several Republicans could gain the No-One-Predicted-It-Loss title: Rep. Jennifer Dunn (WA-8), Rep. Nancy Johnson (CT-5), and Clay Shaw (FL-22) all are from Democratic districts, yet perennialy win their seats. We should target these in 2004.