Can Democrats Flip the House?
What if Kamala Harris wins the election, but Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans refuse to certify the results? Johnson’s already suggesting he might do this.
Here’s the thing, though. The new House gets sworn in on Jan. 3 — three days before it will certify the election.
If Democrats can pick up just four more seats out of 435, Johnson won’t be speaker, and we’ll have a majority committed to respecting the Constitution.
Here are the seats we’ve got the best shots at flipping.
Republican David Schweikert of Arizona’s 1st district voted against certifying the 2020 election. He’s also been convicted of 11 — yes, 11 — campaign finance violations by the House Ethics Committee.
His policies aren’t much better: he’s a six-time co-sponsor of a bill to ban abortion and essentially outlaw IVF nationwide. And he has voted multiple times to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Democratic challenger Amish Shah, on the other hand, is a physician and former state representative who supports abortion rights and has promised to lower health care costs and stop Big Pharma’s price gouging.
In California’s 41st District, kicking Republican Ken Calvert to the curb is crucial. Calvert was part of Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election and voted against certifying it. He also supported overturning Roe v. Wade.
He’s facing Democratic challenger Will Rollins, an assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted January 6th insurrectionists, white collar criminals, and terrorists.
Also in the Golden State, one of the weakest House Republicans is John Duarte of California’s 13th. He was elected by just 564 votes in 2022. Before politics, Duarte made a living running a business with a history of allegedly defrauding family farmers.
He’s being challenged by Democratic former state Rep. Adam Gray, who has fought to protect local water rights. So while Duarte cheats farmers, Gray fights for them.
In California’s 45th, Republican Michelle Steel supported the court case overturning Roe v. Wade and co-sponsored a national abortion ban in 2021 — later distancing herself from it when it became politically inconvenient.
She is being challenged by Democrat Derek Tran, an Army veteran and the son of Vietnamese refugees. Tran has stated that he is 100 percent pro-choice.