ICYMI: GOP Fields “Younger, Diverse Crowd Of Candidates” To Win Back Majority
WASHINGTON – Republicans have recruited the most talented and diverse class of candidates in recent memory to take back the House. More than 200 Republican women, 180 minority candidates and 250 veterans are seeking to flip seats in the people’s House and take back the majority.
Here’s what folks are saying about how the House GOP’s stellar recruiting class is putting swing districts in play all across the country:
Washington Post: “But this hasn’t been the election, or the national climate, that anyone expected. Republicans are hoping a younger, diverse crowd of candidates will help it navigate a landscape that changes daily, and often faster. Issues that looked set to define the election — impeachment, abortion, socialism — were replaced by a pandemic, then by civil unrest.” (David Weigel, Washington Post, 6/4/2020)
Fox News: “The number of women in particular blows away past marks for the Republican Party, which saw 120 women file to run in 2018 and a previous record of 133 women run in 2010, per CAWP. Republicans have put a premium on recruiting women and minorities to run in the kind of suburban districts that Democrats dominated during the 2018 elections on their way to a House majority.” (Tyler Olson, Fox News, 5/29/20)
NYT: “House Republicans are taking a cue from the Democratic recruiting playbook, eschewing the kind of candidates they turned to in decades past — white, male, often veterans of local or state politics — in favor of novices with diverse backgrounds in competitive races across the country.” (Catie Edmondson, NYT, 5/19/20)
VOX: “In fact, this cycle has seen the largest number of Republican women filing ever, surpassing the previous record of 133 that was set in 2010. There are a couple of reasons for this uptick, according to experts. Among them: The infrastructure for recruiting Republican women has improved significantly…” (Li Zhou, Vox, 5/27/20)
POLITICO: “Republican recruiters are heartened by a surge in female candidates, who had struggled in recent primaries. From the party’s official campaign arm to members like Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and a number of new outside groups, nominating female candidates has been a renewed priority for the GOP.” (Ally Mutnick, James Arkin, Zach Montellaro And Steven Shepard, POLITICO, 6/3/20)
The Hill: “Republican women are helping to drive a 2020 surge in female House candidates, a sign of hope for GOP women who have seen their share of seats drop in recent years…. Republicans have greatly improved their numbers, with 195 women running in House races under the party’s banner this year. That’s up from a previous record of 133 during the Tea Party wave in 2010… The record, is due in large part to this increase in Republican women, whereas Democratic women are sort of pacing based on 2018.” (Julia Manchester, The Hill, 5/15/20)
Bloomberg: “The Republican total far exceeds the party’s previous record of 133 women who sought House seats in 2010. Democrats are close to their high watermark of 356 women candidates in 2018.” (Greg Giroux, Bloomberg, 6/4/20)
Washington Post: “The GOP’s uphill battle to retake the House, which got a boost last month with the victory of Rep. Mike Garcia in California, has found the party recruiting diverse candidates with compelling stories. This week’s primaries continued to validate the strategy, as Hinson, Iowa legislator Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Pennsylvania businesswoman Lisa Scheller won nominations in three swing seats where, in 2018, Republican men had come up short.” (David Weigel, Washington Post, 6/4/2020)