Marcy Kaptur

Data: AdImpact, Cook Political Report; Chart: Thomas Oide/AxiosWith dreams of going big, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) are pouring millions into long-shot targets.Why it matters: The House majority will be decided in little more than two dozen toss-up races, but both sides crave the shot at a substantial majority.🔎 Call them "squinter races." They aren't sleepers, given the spending. But when one party squints, they can see a path to victory.That creates a must-do: Pick off safe(er) seats on the other side, or at least make them spend big on defense.🤑 The DCCC and the Jeffries-linked House Majority PAC have invested $21 million into flipping a half dozen GOP-held districts rated "lean" or "likely Republican" by Cook Political Report.The NRCC and Johnson's Congressional Leadership Fund have spent around $16.7 million on seven Democratic-held districts rated "lean" or "likely Democratic."Zoom in: Democrats are going after six of Cook's 14 "lean" and "likely" Republican seats.While Republicans are targeting seven Democratic seats, they represent a much smaller proportion of the possible targets.Said one Democratic strategist: "This is what you're able to do when you have the bigger checking account."Driving the news: Two "squinters" recently came into focus for Democrats when Cook moved Iowa's 1st and 3rd districts from "lean Republican" to toss-up.The same happened for Republicans when Cook changed Virginia's 7th district from "lean Democrat" to a jump-ball.Democrats have poured $5.5 million into Iowa-1 and $2.1 million in Iowa-3, according to data from AdImpact. Republicans spent $1.8 million in Virginia-7.Zoom out: Three main factors can put a district on the target list, Republican and Democratic strategists who work on House races told us.1) Weak incumbent: For Democrats, targets include Reps. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wisc.), Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) and Scott Perry (R-Pa.).For Republicans, it's members like Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), who they see as facing the first truly tough challenge of her 40-year career in a district that voted for former President Trump in 2020.2) Strong challenger: Democrats are enamored with the backgrounds of candidates such as Monica Tranel, a former Olympian who's challenging Zinke, and Janelle Stelson, a TV anchor running against Perry.Republicans are leaning on the diversity of their candidate slate in these districts. That includes Rep. Pat Ryan's (D-N.Y.) challenger Alison Esposito, Rep. Jahana Hayes' (D-Conn.) challenger George Logan and former Rep. Mayra Flores, who's running against Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas).3) Promising fundamentals: House Democrats hope backlash to abortion laws in redder states like Iowa will drive turnout. They're also counting on a boost from competitive Senate races in Montana, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.Republicans are hoping for a second wave of backlash against Democrats in California and New York that fueled their 2022 victory.The bottom line: Look for more ad buys. Democrats have plenty of cash to throw around.The DCCC last month added John Avlon and Whitney Fox, the challengers to Reps. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) and Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), to their "Red to Blue" program. Both districts are rated "likely Republican."

Many of the highest-profile races are underway in Montana, New York, California and beyond, far from the presidential battleground states contested by Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris.

WASHINGTON — The race for control of Congress is as close as ever, with barely two dozen House seats and a handful in the Senate likely to determine the majority this November and whether a single party sweeps to power with the White House.

WASHINGTON — Just over a decade ago, the United Auto Workers union was instrumental in delivering a resounding Michigan victory for former President Barack Obama in his successful 2012 reelection bid.

The Club for Growth is investing $5 million into a fresh ad buy hitting Democrats in tight races on the issue of crime.

A new tally shows the overwhelming number of jobs and projects funded by the Inflation Reduction Act go to conservative states that back Trump.

A Taliban fighter stands guard at Kabul airport on Aug. 27, 2021, at the site of the twin suicide bombs that killed scores of people, including 13 U.S. troops, the previous day.

A rematch in Washington state is shaping up to be one of the key races to determine who controls the House in November, as first-term incumbent Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) faces off for a second time against Trump-backed Republican Joe Kent in a district that went for the former president in 2020. Gluesenkamp Perez pulled [...]

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) on Monday announced a slate of 26 Republican candidates as part of its “Young Gun” program, which highlights non-incumbent candidates and challengers in competitive districts. The initial list of 2024 candidates includes 24 Republicans who are either challenging incumbent Democrats or seeking a seat that a Democrat is vacating, [...]

A federal judge said that Rudy Giuliani's bankruptcy has not been officially dismissed because the former New York City mayor has refused to pay administrative expenses — even though he seems to have the funds to do so.In July, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane said he would dismiss the bankruptcy case at the request of Giuliani and two former Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. Giuliani had initially declared bankruptcy after a court ordered him to pay Freeman and Moss $148 million for defamation.In a five-page order on Thursday, Lane noted that the order to dismiss the case had not been entered into the court record because Giuliani claimed he could not afford to pay related administrative expenses."The administrative expenses in question are the fees for the financial advisors retained by the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors," the judge's Thursday order said. "What little we know about the Debtor's financial situation makes his stance here more troubling.""Even assuming that the Debtor does not have the funds on hand to immediately pay these bankruptcy expenses, he certainly has considerable assets upon which he can draw to pay such expenses," Lane continued. "It is undisputed that he owns two apartments of considerable value."Giuliani's New York apartment was said to be worth $5.6 million, and his Florida apartment was valued at approximately $3.5 million.EXCLUSIVE: Trump ‘secretary of retribution’ won't discuss his ‘target list’ at RNCLane explained that the "most obvious path forward" would be to hold hearings to determine Giuliani's financial conditions and possibly force him to testify."[T]here may come a point when dismissal is no longer an option because the Debtor is unwilling to pay these administrative expenses, a necessary requirement under the law for dismissal of the case," Thursday's order said. "Under such circumstances, the Court may be forced to reevaluate the alternative of a Chapter 11 trustee to supervise the administration of the Debtor's financial affairs and to promptly liquidate assets such as the New York apartment as appropriate."Lane gave Giuliani and his creditors until July 31 to submit proposals for a path forward.

A GOP strategist unleashed an attack on Kamala Harris that was dripping in sarcasm Thursday after losing his cool over positive media coverage of the Democratic Party’s presumed presidential candidate.Doug Heye was on CNN as the vice president finished a rally speech in Houston. As his co-guest, Democratic Party strategist Maria Cordona, finished praising the candidate’s performance, Heye got flustered.Raising his voice, he said, “Everything we heard is 'Oh my god, Kamala Harris is the greatest thing ever. She's the greatest cook that we've ever had near the Oval Office. She knows more about wine than anybody other than maybe Thomas Jefferson. Everything she does is amazing.'“So we should just cancel the election because clearly she's going to win by 25 points?”He then tried to bring the CNN panel back from what he saw as rose-colored adoration.ALSO READ: ‘Creepy weirdos’: Senator fears Trump WH staff would destroy government from ‘inside’“The reality is, i'm not going to get in Donald Trump's head, don't want to be there, don't know what's in there. But he sees the same polling that we do," he said.“Kamala Harris is marginally less unpopular than Joe Biden. She's not winning in the polls. Maybe that changes in a week or two, or six or eight, but at this point, Donald Trump is still winning despite this barrage of nothing but positive press for Kamala Harris and has been marinated in the public's mind.”Cardona had set him off by suggesting that Trump was “going through a mental meltdown” because of his opponent's popularity.“Not just that she is incredibly accomplished as DA, AG, senator, VP,” she said, “but the fact that she is also very attractive. I mean, I have to say it.“...In addition to that, she's not only a woman, she's a woman of African American Asian descent, daughter of immigrants, Jamaican descent.I mean, it's it's this sort of cauldron of all of the things that Trump has nightmares about every single night.”Watch the video below or click the link here.

Vulnerable House Democrats are circling the wagons around Vice President Harris, arguing that their new likely presidential nominee will only increase excitement for Democrats up and down the ballot as they work to recapture the lower chamber in November. The majority of frontliners — a title given to vulnerable lawmakers running in the most competitive races this cycle [...]