Oct 25, 2024 - Politics & Policy

Scoop: Jeffries' campaign arm warns House Dems not to "get comfortable"

Andrew Solender

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, wearing a blue suit and raising a finger — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) campaigns in Omaha, Neb., on Oct. 20, 2024. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images.

House Democrats' campaign arm is warning colleagues not to "get comfortable" in the final weeks of the 2024 election, citing internal polling that shows nearly two dozen races within a few percentage points, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: It's a somewhat standard tone from Democrats ahead of an election — and includes an 11th hour plea for cash — but it dovetails with widespread anxiety among Democrats about the closeness of the election.

House Democrats increasingly see themselves as the last line of defense against a Trump-led Republican trifecta running the federal government.
"In the worst case scenario, if we don't hold on [to the White House], I think we will win back the House," New Democrat Coalition Chair Annie Kuster (D-N.H.) told Axios.

Driving the news: The warning came in an update to House Democrats sent Friday afternoon by Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Executive Director Julie Merz, a copy of which was obtained by Axios.

Merz wrote that while she would "rather be us than them," Democrats' internal polling puts 21 of 25 races rated as "toss-up" by Cook Political Report within a 3 percentage-point margin.
"Now is not the time to take our foot off the gas, nor is it time to get comfortable with the enthusiasm we are seeing on the ground," she wrote.

Merz added: "I don't need to tell any of you how important it is that Leader Jeffries is serving as Speaker Jeffries when it comes time to certify the election on January 6, 2025."

Between the lines: Kuster, who has reviewed Democrats' internal polling, told Axios that many races are "not just within the margin of error … many, many of them are literally tied."

Some races are "46-46, 48-48," she said, adding that "even where we are ahead, which we are in some, it's like 48-47 or 46-45."

Read the update:

Add Axios on Google

Scoop: Jeffries' campaign arm warns House Dems not to "get comfortable"

What to read next