With Election Day a little more than a month out, the Democratic National Committee said it is contributing a round of funding to the state party to target key House races, including several in Southern California.
The late-in-the-cycle $200,000 investment is earmarked for the state party to hire additional staff who will target voters in eight House districts: California’s 27th congressional district in Los Angeles County, the 41st in Riverside County, the 45th in Orange and Los Angeles counties, the 47th in Orange County and the 49th in Orange and San Diego counties, the DNC said.
The additional hires will specifically target young and Latino voters in those districts, according to the DNC.
The investment is the latest sign of how these particular House races are projected to impact just which party controls the House next year. And it shows how both parties are laser-focused on several California House seats.
A recent survey from researchers at researchers from USC, Cal State Long Beach and Cal Poly Pomona found the Republican incumbents in three of those targeted races — Rep. Mike Garcia in CA-27, Rep. Ken Calvert in CA-41 and Rep. Michelle Steel in CA-45 — were either trailing or tied with their Democratic challengers.
In California’s 45th congressional district, particularly, election forecasts have begun to shift more favorably to Democrats in the race. There, Steel, who has been in Congress since 2021, faces attorney Derek Tran in what has become an increasingly volatile campaign.
Both CA-27, where Garcia faces former NASA chief of staff George Whiteside, and CA-41, a contest between Calvert and former federal prosecutor Will Rollins, are considered “Republican toss ups” by the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election analysis site.
CA-47, featuring former Republican Assemblymember Scott Baugh and Democratic state Sen. Dave Min, is rated “lean Democrat” by the site. The seat is held by Rep. Katie Porter, D-Irvine, who opted to run for U.S. Senate this year instead of re-election.
Republicans sent their top chief, RNC Chair Michael Whately, to Orange County late last month to rally support for their candidates in these close House races. Whatley said the party intended to keep California’s 12 Republican-held congressional seats while also eyeing potential pickups in CA-47 and CA-49 where incumbent Rep. Mike Levin faces Republican businessman Matt Gunderson.
Ahead of the election, Republicans hold an eight-seat advantage in the House, with three vacancies, giving the GOP control of the speaker’s gavel.
CA-49, however, is trending more favorable for Democrats to win re-election, according to election analysts.
Still, the DNC’s recent investment in these House races, said DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, will ensure “Democrats have the resources to run competitive races across the map in red and blue states alike.”
That looks like strengthening the California Democratic Party’s youth program, which pays college students to organize on campuses, and its VOTA! program, focused on get-out-the-vote efforts in California’s Latino communities, said Rusty Hicks, the state party chair.
Other House districts that will see the added resources are California’s 9th congressional district, 13th district, 22nd district and 27th district.
It’s the final investment in the national party’s efforts to provide funding and resources to all 57 states and territories this election cycle, the first time it’s done so in a single cycle, according to the DNC.
