Tag: Republican incumbents

GOP strategists worry incumbents aren’t ready for a blue wave

The following article by Elena Schneider was posted on the Politico website November 15, 2017:

“We lost a dozen seats in 2006 that were preventable had incumbents had done their work, and at this point, we may be seeing the same thing in some seats,” said former Rep. Tom Davis, who once chaired the National Republican Congressional Committee. | Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

Republican strategists are warning that some of the party’s veteran House incumbents aren’t adequately preparing for the 2018 election, putting the GOP majority at risk by their failure to recognize the dangerous conditions facing them.

Nearly three dozen Republicans were outraised by their Democratic challengers in the most recent fundraising quarter. Others, the strategists say, are failing to maintain high profiles in their districts or modernize their campaigns by using data analytics in what is shaping up as a stormy election cycle.

“There are certainly incumbent members out there who need to work harder and raise more money if they want to win,” said Corry Bliss, executive director of the Congressional Leadership Fund, the House GOP’s top super PAC. “They’re fundamentally not prepared for how they’re about to be attacked.” Continue reading “GOP strategists worry incumbents aren’t ready for a blue wave”