House Democrats are expanding their ‘red to blue’ program with the addition of four new candidates in their bid to regain control of the chamber
House Democrats are fortifying their efforts to seize the House majority by enrolling four Democratic candidates in their “Red to Blue” initiative. The candidates include Derek Tran and Dave Min in California, Sue Atlman in New Jersey, and Laura Gillen in New York. This move signifies the party’s strategy to leverage President Biden’s popularity in key districts to challenge GOP incumbents and secure victories in the upcoming elections.
House Democrats‘ campaign arm announced on Thursday that it is adding four Democratic candidates to its “Red to Blue” program as the party seeks to retake the House majority in 2024.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added Derek Tran in California, Dave Min in California, Sue Atlman in New Jersey, and Laura Gillen in New York to their list of targeted seats. Under the program, they will get priority assistance from the DCCC’s “highly competitive and battle-tested” initiative as they seek to oust GOP incumbents from their seats or claim a vacant seat in November.
All four Democrats are running for seats that President Joe Biden won considerably in 2020, and Tran, Altman, and Gillen are up against Republican members who only had a 3- to 4-point advantage over their Democratic opponents in 2022.
The addition of the four candidates highlights that Democrats are looking to capitalize on Biden’s popularity in the districts as they work to take back the House from Republicans, who hold a razor-thin majority that is growing smaller as the months go on.
“I am excited to work with this diverse group of public servants, veterans, and leaders to take the House back in November,” DCCC Chairwoman Suzan DelBene (D-WA) said in a statement. “Their records of service stand in stark contrast to their extreme and dangerous far-right opponents. Their victories will help ensure Democrats retake the majority so Congress can get back to work to lower costs, grow the middle class, and defend our reproductive rights.”
Altman, Gillen, and Tran are facing incumbents in the 2024 election, while Min is running to fill a vacant seat left open by Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA), who unsuccessfully ran for Senate to replace the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Tran, who advanced to the general election for California’s 45th Congressional District on Thursday, is a U.S. Army veteran and consumer rights attorney challenging Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA), who has been in Congress since 2021 but a representative of the 45th District since 2023 due to redistricting.
Though Republicans won the seat by 4.8 points in 2022, Biden won the district by 6.1 points in 2020, and the 45th District fight is shaping up to be one of the most closely watched contests this fall. Democrats have worked to portray Steel as an extremist on abortion, one of the top issues of the 2024 election after the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the Alabama Supreme Court ruling on in vitro fertilization.
“At every turn, Michelle Steel has fought against legislation that would help middle-class families get ahead, backing dangerous and extreme restrictions on their fundamental freedoms — and Southern California can’t afford her partisan games any longer,” DelBene said.
Min, a California state senator who seeks to replace Porter in the 47th District, is hoping to secure a seat that leaned Democratic by 3.4 points in 2022 and was won by Biden by 11.1 points in 2020. The DCCC called Min a “consistent champion” who will bring bipartisanship to the House. Min will face former California state Rep. Scott Baugh, a Republican, after both men were the top two vote-getters in California’s primary in March.
On the East Coast, Atlman and Gillen look to oust centrist Reps. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) and Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ), respectively, as part of the Democrats’ larger goal of regaining seats that were flipped red in the 2022 midterm elections.
Altman faces Kean in a district that leaned Republican by 2.8 points in 2022 and Biden won by 3.6 points in 2020. The New Jersey Democratic candidate played both college and professional basketball before becoming a teacher and is bringing “years of experience advocating for a fairer political system” to the campaign trail.
“It’s a big day for Team Altman!” Altman said in a post to X celebrating her “red to blue” addition. “We’re building a movement NJ deserves. A movement of public service. A movement against corruption & nepotism. A movement for democracy. We wouldn’t be here without all our supporters. We’re just getting started.”
Gillen is facing D’Esposito in November, who is one of the most vulnerable House Republicans in 2024 and who flipped the 4th District seat red in 2022. Republicans won the district by 3.6 points in 2022, but Biden won the seat by 14.5 points in 2020, a large enough margin that Democrats believe signals D’Esposito’s days in office are limited.
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“Laura Gillen’s proven track record of fighting for Nassau County families and working across the aisle to get things done puts her in a strong position to flip New York’s Fourth Congressional District,” DelBene said. “Her willingness to fight for her district couldn’t stand in clearer contrast to Anthony D’Esposito, who has consistently caved to partisan extremists on border security, abortion rights, and the economy.”
The DCCC first announced its “red to blue” program in January 2024, with 17 candidates originally added to the initiative. With the four additions on Thursday, it brings the program’s candidate slate up to 21, with most of the GOP targets being freshman Republicans or vulnerable GOP lawmakers in swing or narrow-margin districts.
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