DCCC Announces Major Investment to Solidify Gains, Target Vulnerable Republicans

There’s no time like the present to solidify the gains the Democrats made in the House during the 2018 midterm elections and target vulnerable Republican seats in 2020.

That’s the message of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which on Thursday announced it is rolling out a multi-million dollar grassroots organizing effort nearly 20 months before the next general election.

Through its “March Forward” initiative the committee, the campaign arm of the House Democrats, will place paid organizers is scores of congressional districts across the country, many of them encompassing suburban communities.

“As Democrats, we’ve always drawn our strength from the people we fight for each and every day – that’s why I’m so proud to announce that, in our first major investment of the 2020 cycle, we are launching March Forward to put boots on the ground in dozens of communities across America,” said DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos.

“By organizing early and aggressively, we will March Forward to build a better future for all Americans by winning on the doors, online and on the ballot in 2020,” Bustos said.

On its face, the initiative is similar to a program the DCCC coordinated ahead of the 2018 election cycle called March into ’18. What’s different is the order of magnitude.

For 2018 the committee hired 20 campaign organizers and targeted 25 Republican-held districts that Hillary Clinton won two years earlier. As a result of that effort, the Democrats wound up flipping 22 of those districts.

This year the DCCC plans to hire almost 60 organizers, and will focus on “putting pressure on the GOP early and often, making them answer to their constituents and the press,” said one individual with a knowledge of the effort, speaking on background.

Managers will be trained on communications, digital, research and field tactics so they can execute a modern campaign strategy.

In addition, March Forward will target voters in cities and rural areas, and will also focus on engaging with people of color.

Among the districts being seeded with paid organizers are Orange County and the Central Valley in California; Miami and Tampa, Florida; the Atlanta suburbs in Georgia; Chicago’s western suburbs; Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Long Island, New York; suburban Philadelphia and Harrisburg in Pennsylvania; and the outskirts of Austin, Dallas and Houston in Texas.