Republicans

CENSORSHIP! Dems Cry Foul Over GOP Interference With Medicare Mailers

Brian Beutler | June 15, 2011, 11:15AM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

A bitter, behind-the-scenes fight over the GOP's Medicare phase-out plan has bubbled out into the open, and now Democrats are openly charging Republicans with censoring their communications with constituents.

Several House Democrats are petitioning House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), in a letter first reported by Roll Call, to step in and stop Republicans on the House Administration Committee from blocking Democratic Medicare mailers.

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House '12

Iowa GOPer Latham To Move Districts And Oppose Dem Boswell -- Avoiding Primary With Steve King

Eric Kleefeld | April 15, 2011, 1:56PM

Rep. Tom Latham (R-IA) and Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-IA)

Iowa's partially non-partisan redistricting process has now resulted in some musical chairs, as the state adjusts to being reduced from five House seats to four. And in the latest development, Republican Rep. Tom Latham has announced he is moving across the new lines into the district of Democratic Rep. Leonard Boswell, challenging him in the general election -- and avoiding a Republican primary with Tea Partying Congressman Steve King.

The Des Moines Register reports:

Latham, who now lives in Ames in Iowa's 4th Congressional District, would have resided in Iowa's in the same district as Rep. Steve King, a Kiron Republican, under new political boundaries approved Thursday by the Iowa Legislature. His move to the new 3rd District - which covers southwest Iowa - from Des Moines to Council Bluffs, avoids an intra-party primary battle between two GOP incumbents.

Latham sent a letter today to friends and supporters announcing he will move to the 3rd District, saying, "I have never let map boundaries block the great honor I have felt in representing the interests of all Iowans in the United States Congress."

So which one of them won't have a chair when the music stops in November 2012?

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2010 elections

Surprise! Meet The House Dems Who Used To Be Safe -- But Aren't Anymore

Eric Kleefeld | September 14, 2010, 8:57AM

Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO)

Republicans are widely expected to make significant gains this November, possibly, perhaps even probably, taking back control of the House of Representatives. This is to be expected to some extent, as the Democrats enjoyed two big wave elections in 2006 and 2008, and many of those House members won't be coming back. But there are some other Dems, who in many other cycles would be safe bets to be reelected, that have unexpectedly ended up in tough races after longer tenures in Congress.

[TPM'S TOP 10 HOUSE RACES TO WATCH]

The House members we're talking about are folks who have been easily re-elected in past cycles, often without significant opposition, in districts that were leaning Republican in other ways, such as in the presidential vote. But in a year where the GOP has the wind at their backs, these Dems are now being aggressively targeted, and facing tough races.

"You always have some Congressmen who have been shaky," said Professor Larry Sabato from the University of Virginia, in an interview with TPM. "You think of John Spratt. Look at his district, where it is in South Carolina, he's never really that safe. Ike Skelton [of Missouri] -- they're just never that safe. They get a lot of passes, and their incumbency and their chairmanships help them. But every now and then the sun and the moon and the stars align just right and they're in trouble. It doesn't mean they'll lose, but they'll have close and competitive races, anyway."

So let's take a look at some of the Dems who have been in Congress for awhile -- and somewhat surprisingly, will have to work hard this year to stay there. This list is not exhaustive of all suddenly-vulnerable Dems, nor is it meant to imply that all or even any of them are guaranteed to lose. But it does give a sense of the current hostile environment and lack of Democratic enthusiasm -- especially as it spreads to districts that have been becoming more Republican underneath their occupants' feet.

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