CQ: House: Dems Get an Early Start on 'Red to Blue' Initiative

House: Dems Get an Early Start on 'Red to Blue' Initiative

Needing a 15-seat net gain this fall to capture a majority, the House Democrats’ national campaign organization is reviving and expanding a program to provide assistance to promising candidates in districts currently held by Republicans.

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“The DCCC’s ‘Red to Blue’ program will give our top candidates the structural and financial edge they’ll need in order to win in November,” said Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel, who chairs the DCCC. Emanuel’s written statement also billed the effort as “an exclusive program that will reward the candidates and campaigns that are most skilled” at raising money and promoting their campaign message.
Co-chairing the program will be Reps. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz of Florida, who have helped lead efforts to recruit many of the candidates who will be designated as deserving extra assistance. Their role will include — but is not limited to — helping to raise money for candidates’ campaigns and for the DCCC.

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The 2006 program is not only beginning earlier, but is envisioned as more comprehensive and higher profile than the 2004 program. It will more closely involve House Democratic incumbents, many of whom will serve as “mentors” for the party’s top candidates and make campaign appearances on their behalf.

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No decisions have been publicly announced regarding which candidates will receive assistance from the Red to Blue program. But the DCCC is expected to identify candidates in the coming weeks.
Two beneficiaries of the 2004 program who staged highly competitive challenges that year are seeking rematches: Democratic lawyer Lois Murphy is again challenging Republican Rep. Jim Gerlach in Pennsylvania’s 6th District, and Diane Farrell is taking on Republican Rep. Christopher Shays in Connecticut’s 4th District.

http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/02/house_dems_get_an_early_start.html