By Gabriella Borter WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democrats plan a series of town hall meetings in highly competitive U.S. House of Representatives districts currently held by Republicans, aiming to tap into anger over President Donald Trump’s campaign to aggressively slash the federal government. The move is an attempt to harness momentum from the eruptions at town halls […]
Politics
Democrats target Republican districts with town hall campaign against Trump cuts
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By Gabriella Borter
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democrats plan a series of town hall meetings in highly competitive U.S. House of Representatives districts currently held by Republicans, aiming to tap into anger over President Donald Trump’s campaign to aggressively slash the federal government.
The move is an attempt to harness momentum from the eruptions at town halls last month against the Trump cost-cutting campaign led by Elon Musk. Democrats are targeting some of the roughly two dozen competitive seats that will determine control of the House in next year’s midterm elections.
At those meetings, voters decried the Trump administration’s firings of federal workers and potential cuts to safety net programs like Medicaid and Social Security in the Republicans’ budget resolution, which was passed last month.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson last week advised his members to stop hosting in-person town halls.
Americans broadly support the idea of scaling back the federal government but believe Musk is moving too quickly in engineering the firing of tens of thousands of government workers, Reuters/Ipsos polling shows.
The campaign, organized by the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Association of State Democratic Committees, will kick off next week in 10 competitive districts, a DNC spokesperson said.
It will continue for the rest of the year in all 50 states.
“We’re filling a void that’s left open by our Republican colleagues who are too scared to show up to town halls in their own districts because they’re doing things that are not popular,” Democratic Representative Max Frost of Florida told reporters at a gathering of House Democrats this week.
“That’s not fair to their constituents.”
TARGETING COMPETITIVE SEATS
The town halls will be hosted by local and national Democratic politicians, including Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, the 2024 vice presidential candidate, the DNC spokesperson said.
The initial round will target competitive district seats currently held by Republicans Juan Ciscomani in Arizona, Gabe Evans in Colorado, Anna Paulina Luna in Florida, Zach Nunn in Iowa, John James in Michigan, Ann Wagner in Missouri, Don Bacon in Nebraska and Ryan Mackenzie and Rob Bresnahan in Pennsylvania.
Representative Bacon accused Nebraska Democrats of using the town hall in his district to bring in “the most liberal Governor in America.” Walz is expected to speak there next week.
A spokesperson for Evans said he planned to do his own town halls “in a way that allows constituents’ concerns to be heard without being drowned out by yelling activists.”
Spokespeople for the other members did not respond to requests for comment.
Some of those Republican lawmakers targeted by the Democrats’ town hall campaign had expressed hesitation about the House budget resolution before ultimately voting in favor of it.
The resolution outlined spending cuts that would likely slash funding for food assistance, Medicare and Medicaid, a program that covers healthcare for low-income Americans.
The House, where Republicans currently have a 218-213 majority, presents Democrats’ best chance of regaining some control of the levers of power in Washington in the 2026 midterm elections.
Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and with a few Democratic senators retiring, the odds of their retaking that chamber have slimmed.
(Reporting by Gabriella Borter; Editing by Scott Malone, Joe Bavier and David Gregorio)