The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is adding three candidates to its competitive “Red to Blue” program as Democrats ramp up spending and attacks on Republicans in key districts to try and win back the House.
Democrats Whitney Fox, April McClain Delaney, and John Avlon will join the program that provides candidates with organizational and fundraising support to boost their chances of winning campaigns. The announcement comes as Thursday marks 40 days before the 2024 election, with the Democrats hoping to control both chambers of Congress.
“The DCCC is well positioned to take back the House thanks to incredible candidates like John Avlon, Whitney Fox, and April McClain Delaney,” DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene (D-WA) said. “They are all running to deliver lower costs, stand up for working families, and defend our freedoms — a stark contrast to their extreme, out-of-touch opponents. I look forward to working with them to win these seats and calling them colleagues in the next Congress.”
Fox is running for Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s (R-FL) seat in the 13th Congressional District. The Cook Political Report rates the seat as “likely Republican,” but it is Democrats’ best pickup opportunity in the 2024 election given Luna’s hard-line conservative stance. Most of Luna’s predecessors in the district walked a more centrist line, so Fox, a former communications director for Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, needs to convince moderate Republicans and independents that she will represent the district better.
A poll taken Aug. 28-29 from WPA Intelligence found Luna leading Fox, 48% to 43%; however, a poll from St. Pete Polls found Fox leading Luna, 48% to 44%. A boost from the DCCC’s Red to Blue program could help Fox as she competes this November.
McClain Delaney is running for the open seat in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District left vacant by Rep. David Trone (D-MD). Trone, who served for three terms, opted not to run for reelection and ran in the Democratic primary for Maryland’s Senate open seat held by outgoing Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD).
Trone lost the primary to Angela Alsobrooks despite sinking tens of millions of his own money into the race, so he will leave Congress in January — and his departure from the House sets up the 6th District to be the state’s most competitive House election. McClain Delaney will face former Republican Del. Neil Parrott in November. The Cook Political Report rates the seat as “likely Democratic” with a +2 advantage for Democrats.
A survey released in August by the National Republican Congressional Committee found McClain Delaney leading Parrott, 42% to 40%. McClain Delaney outraised Parrott as of July, raking in over $1 million to the Republican’s nearly $284,000. However, she has contributed a lot of funds to her own campaign: she has raised a total of $2,974,706 since she entered the race in October 2023. Of that total, $1,875,000 came from McClain Delaney, per the Frederick News-Post.
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Avlon is running in New York’s 1st Congressional District against Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY). Unlike his fellow New York Republicans who entered Congress in 2022, his seat is rated “likely Republican.” The district has voted for a GOP representative since 2014, but Avalon, the Democratic House Majority PAC, and the DCCC argue the seat is still competitive.
LaLota is trying to paint Avlon as a “Manhattan elitist” with “extreme leftist positions,” while the former CNN anchor, married to a Republican commentator, is trying to run a centrist campaign mimicking the policies of the Clintons. The district voted for Trump narrowly in the 2020 presidential election, 51% to Joe Biden’s 49%.