One of the new initiatives over at the NRCC under Pete Sessions' watch has been the creation of its "Patriot Program", a Frontline-like fundraising effort to shore up the most vulnerable Republicans in the House. The first round was launched in May, and now the NRCC is adding 15 new names to the effort. Roll Call has the dirt, but here are the targeted district in sortable chart form:
Incumbent
District
PVI
2008 Margin
Mike Rogers
AL-03
R+9
6%
Mary Bono Mack
CA-45
R+3
14%
Bill Posey
FL-15
R+6
11%
Tom Rooney
FL-16
R+5
20%
Mario Diaz-Balart
FL-25
R+5
6%
Lynn Jenkins
KS-02
R+9
5%
John Fleming
LA-04
R+11
<1%
Bill Cassidy
LA-06
R+10
8%
Michele Bachmann
MN-06
R+7
3%
Blaine Luetkemeyer
MO-09
R+9
3%
Lee Terry
NE-02
R+6
4%
Scott Garrett
NJ-05
R+7
14%
Dean Heller
NV-02
R+5
11%
Charlie Dent
PA-15
D+2
18%
Cynthia Lummis
WY-AL
R+20
10%
It's a bit of a weird list, one that's a mixture of incumbents in real danger (Bachmann, Terry, Dent) and more than a few names who I don't expect will receive serious challenges this cycle (Garrett, Jenkins, the Louisiana twins, and Luetkemeyer) or anytime soon (Lummis). While the first batch of Patriot participants came predominantly from Obama districts, the opposite is true for this second round. Only Bono Mack, Terry, and Dent occupy districts that Obama won (though McCain barely won NV-02). Amusingly, birther nutcase Bill Posey finds his way onto the list; you may remember Posey as the guy whom the DCCC could find no warm body to run against in 2008, other than Mike Gravel fan Stephen Blythe.
Also interesting is who ain't on the list for the second time in a row: Bill Young (FL-10) and Mike Castle (DE-AL). Both are facing strong challengers (though Charlie Justice has some work to do), and while Castle admits that a re-election bid is unlikely, the geriatric Young's exclusion seems more telling. Or is the NRCC perhaps hedging its bets?
Three months ago, the NRCC announced its "Patriot Program," a Frontline-like effort to protect the most vulnerable Republican members of the House. But then, they did nothing - no announcements, no lists, nothing. For three months. Until, finally, today. Here's the first-round list:
Name
District
PVI
2008 Margin
Dan Lungren
CA-03
R+6
6%
Ken Calvert
CA-44
R+6
2%
Brian Bilbray
CA-50
R+3
5%
Judy Biggert
IL-13
R+1
10%
Joseph Cao
LA-02
D+25
3%
Thad McCotter
MI-11
R+0
6%
Erik Paulsen
MN-03
R+0
8%
Leonard Lance
NJ-07
R+3
8%
Christopher Lee
NY-26
R+6
14%
Dave Reichert
WA-08
D+3
6%
Note that despite the PVIs, the only district on here which Obama did not win was NY-26 (carried by McCain 52-46). There are also some pretty notable absences on this list, such as Mike Castle (DE-AL), Mark Kirk (IL-10), Jim Gerlach (PA-06), and Bill Young (FL-10). All of these guys could run for higher office or retire, so maybe the NRCC is tipping its hand here - or just hedging its bets.
