Is the NRCC’s “Drive to 245” Republican-held House seats a pipe dream, or a realistic goal?
GOP consultants and candidates hope to harness the momentum they’ve already gathered from Democrats’ failure to lead on hot button issues to put more Republicans in Congress, but some strategists are skeptical in Republicans’ ability to reach their goal.
NRCC Chairman Greg Walden addressed the ambitious nature of the campaign, placing his confidence in the quality of the candidates the Committee has managed to field:
“This ambitious effort is going to take substantial resources and dedication given the commitment President Obama has made to taking out our Members,” Chairman Walden said. “But I’m confident that with so many outstanding recruits in districts all across the country, and with the wind at our backs, that we will continue to expand the playing field and rise to this challenge. If we do, maybe we can finally send Nancy Pelosi into retirement and back to San Francisco.”
Still, top campaign consultants are hesitant to guarantee an all-out coup:
Something that both Lee and Pozzuoli bring up is important to remember as we head into the home stretch: both incumbents and hopefuls are going into this cycle with a dark cloud over their heads. People don’t like Congress as a body. We may have 9 more Dem seats listed as toss ups, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that voters will by default show up to vote for Republicans in those races, or any other race.
We’re running out of time to run against Obama. We can’t count on dissatisfaction with Obama, Harry Reid, or any other politician to drive voters to the polls. The key to increasing turnout for Republicans is to explain why our solutions to all the problems Democrats have caused will work on a level that’s relevant to the average voter.
We can do it. We have the policy chops and the messaging capability; we just have to be willing to step outside the box and remember that the candidates we work with represent people, not entries in a spreadsheet.
245 might be aspirational, but there’s nothing wrong with thinking ahead.
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