Targeted Races

TPM is reporting the list of 31 Congressional races that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is targeting this fall with $34 million worth of ads.

The 11 Democratic incumbents the DCCC is supporting are (seat competitiveness provided by Cook Political Report):

• Mitchell (AZ-05)--Lean Democratic
• Mahoney (FL-16)--Lean Democratic
• Hill (IN-09)--Lean Democratic
• Yarmuth (KY-03)--Lean Democratic
• Cazayoux (LA-06)--Toss Up
• Boyda (KA-2)--Toss Up
• Shea-Porter (NH-1)--Lean Democratic
• Altmire (PA-4)--Lean Democratic
• Lampson (TX-22)--Toss Up
• Rodriguez (TX-23)--Likely Democratic
• Kagen (WI-8)--Lean Democratic
  

All of the incumbents are freshman members of Congress so I'm particularly curious why Chris Carney is not on the list.

Carney is a freshman member of the DCCC's "Frontline '08" Delegation (like 10 of the 11 names above), but that didn't seem to translate into him getting support.

These are all "competitive" seats, but it is clear that some are much more competitive than others. For instance, Carney's seat is rated a "Toss Up" signaling it is particularly competitive. Therefore, it seems rather odd to leave Carney out for Rep. Ciro Rodriguez of Texas who is in a "Likely Democratic" reelection bid and already served in Congress (lost after 2003 redistricting, but won again in 2006).

I'm not quite sure those are the wisest priorities. As the NRCC targets Carney in Pennsylvania and ROMP makes a commitment to Hackett, it's interesting to see the dynamics of Carney's own party and their failure to support him.