Washington Democrats add Gottheimer to list of most vulnerable House incumbents in November

Washington Democrats on Thursday added seven House members to their list of vulnerable chamber incumbent – as the reconfiguring of congressional district maps continues just months away from 2022 midterm balloting.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the group primarily responsible for electing and reelecting Democrats in the lower chamber, named the incumbents in an effort to channel money to their campaigns – in what is projected to be a tough election year for Democrats.

The incumbents are Reps. Greg Stanton, of Arizona; Sanford Bishop, of Georgia; Bill Foster, of Illinois;  Dan Kildee, of Michigan; Josh Gottheimer, of New Jersey; Marcy Kaptur, of Ohio; and and Jennifer Wexton, of Virginia.

Republicans are looking for a big win in November and need to flip just five House seats to recapture the chamber.

The midterm following a presidential election typically bodes poorly for the political party in control of the White House, and President Joe Biden's approval numbers signal that fellow Democrats may be looking at an even tougher midterm than would generally be expected.

Close to 30 House Democrats have announced their retirements this election cycle, nearly double the number of Republicans who have announced the same.

"Frontline House Democrats head into November with a record of delivering for the American people by fighting to end this pandemic, rebooting our economy, and putting millions of Americans to work rebuilding America," said DCCC Chairman and New York Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney. "Across the country, Republicans will have to defend their extremist agenda that just doesn’t work for American families."