Factbox: A Look at the 43 Competitive Races in the U.S. House of Representatives
Democrats will defend their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in November elections, in which about one in 10 of the chamber’s 435 seats will be the goal of a competitive race, according to nonpartisan…
Democrats will defend their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in November elections, in which about one in 10 of the chamber’s 435 seats will be the goal of a competitive race, according to nonpartisan tracking services.
Of the 43 races considered competitive, 22 currently have a Republican incumbent, 20 have a Democratic incumbent and one has an independent:
ARIZONA’S 6TH DISTRICT
Representative David Schweikert, a conservative Republican whom the House recently reprimanded for misuse of campaign funds, faces a challenge from Democrat Hiral Tiperneni, a doctor and cancer researcher.
CALIFORNIA’S 21ST DISTRICT
Representative T.J. Cox, a Democrat, has a rematch with former Congressman David Valadao, whom Cox ousted two years ago by just 862 votes.
CALIFORNIA’S 25TH DISTRICT
Republican Representative Mike Garcia, a former fighter pilot, defends the seat he won in a May special election in a rematch with Democrat Christy Smith, a member of the California legislature.
CALIFORNIA’S 48TH DISTRICT
Representative Harvey Rouda, a Democrat who flipped the district in 2018 by ousting long-time Representative Dana Rohrabacher, is being challenged by Republican Michelle Steel, a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors.
FLORIDA’S 15TH DISTRICT
Republican businessman Scott Franklin, who ousted the central Florida district’s Representative Ross Spano in the Republican primary, faces a former investigative journalist, Democrat Alan Cohn.
FLORIDA’S 26TH DISTRICT
Democratic Representative Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, an immigrant from Ecuador, takes on the Cuban-born mayor of Miami-Dade County, Republican Carlos Gimenez.
GEORGIA’S 6TH DISTRICT
Representative Lucy McBath, a Democrat, is in a rematch with Republican Karen Handel, whom McBath unseated two years ago.
GEORGIA’S 7TH DISTRICT
After losing by a razor-thin margin in 2018, Democrat Carolyn Bordeaux battles Republican Rich McCormick for the seat currently held by Republican Representative Rob Woodall, who is retiring.
IOWA’S 1ST DISTRICT
Freshman Democrat Abby Finkenauer, who flipped the district two years ago, faces former television anchor Ashley Hinson, a Republican.
IOWA’S 2ND DISTRICT
Democrat Rita Hart takes on Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks in this district, where Democratic Representative Dave Loebsack is retiring. The district voted for President Donald Trump in 2016.
IOWA’S THIRD DISTRICT
Freshman Democratic Representative Cindy Axne is being challenged by Republican David Young, whom Axne narrowly ousted two years ago in a district that voted for Trump in 2016.
ILLINOIS’ 13TH DISTRICT
Republican Representative Rodney Davis has a rematch with Democrat Betsy Londrigan, who came within a percentage point of unseating him in 2018.
INDIANA’S 5TH DISTRICT
Former Democratic state representative Christina Hale is running against Republican state senator Victoria Spartz in this historically Republican stronghold where Republican Representative Susan Brooks is retiring.
MAINE’S 2ND DISTRICT
Democratic Representative Jared Golden, who flipped the district in 2018, faces a challenge from Republican Dale Crafts, a former state representative.
MICHIGAN’S 3RD DISTRICT
U.S. Army veteran Peter Meijer, a Republican, faces off against immigration attorney Hillary Scholten, a Democrat, in this district where independent Representative Justin Amash is retiring.
MINNESOTA’S FIRST DISTRICT
Freshman Republican Representative Jim Hagedorn is facing a second challenge from Democrat Dan Feehan, a former Army Ranger whom Hagedown narrowly defeated in 2018.
MINNESOTA’S SEVENTH DISTRICT
Long-time Representative Collin Peterson, one of only two House Democrats who voted against Trump’s impeachment in 2019, faces a challenge from Minnesota’s former lieutenant governor, Republican Michelle Fischbach, in a district that voted strongly for Trump.
MISSOURI’S 2ND DISTRICT
Representative Ann Wagner, a Republican and a former U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg, is being challenged by Democratic state senator Jill Schupp.
NORTH CAROLINA’S 2ND DISTRICT
A retired Army colonel, Republican Alan Swain, is running against Democrat Deborah Ross, a former state legislator, for the seat being vacated by Republican Representative George Holding, who retired after the district’s boundaries were redrawn.
NORTH CAROLINA’S 6TH DISTRICT
Immigration lawyer Kathy Manning takes on local Republican party leader Joseph Lee Haywood in another district where the Republican incumbent, Representative Mark Walker, decided to retire after redistricting.
NORTH CAROLINA’S 8TH DISTRICT
Republican Representative Richard Hudson, first elected in 2012, faces Patricia Timmons-Goodson, who was the first Black woman on the North Carolina Supreme Court.
NEBRASKA’S 2ND DISTRICT
Republican Representative Don Bacon has a rematch with Democrat Kara Eastman, a progressive endorsed by the Justice Democrats who came within two points of unseating Bacon in 2018.
NEW JERSEY’S 2ND DISTRICT
Representative Jeff Van Drew, who was elected to Congress as a Democrat in 2018 but became a Republican after voting against impeaching President Trump, faces Democrat Amy Kennedy. She is a former schoolteacher who married into the famous U.S. political family.
NEW JERSEY’S 3RD DISTRICT
Freshman Democratic Representative Andy Kim, a former national security aide to then-President Barack Obama, faces Republican David Richter, a former construction company executive.
NEW JERSEY’S 7TH DISTRICT
Democratic Representative Tom Malinowski, a former diplomat and human rights activist who flipped the district in 2018, is being challenged by Republican Thomas Kean, Jr., whose father was governor of New Jersey.
NEW MEXICO’S 2ND DISTRICT
Freshman Democratic Representative Xochtil Torres-Small has a rematch with Republican Yvette Herrell, who lost narrowly in 2018 and is endorsed by the conservative House Freedom Caucus’ political action committee.
NEW YORK’S 2ND DISTRICT
Republican New York State legislator Andrew Garbarino is running against a Black combat veteran, Democrat Jackie Gordon, for the seat held for 14 terms by retiring Republican Representative Peter King.
NEW YORK’S 11TH DISTRICT
Democratic Representative Max Rose, an Afghanistan war veteran who flipped the district in 2018, is in a contentious race with Republican state legislator Nicole Malliotakis.
NEW YORK’S 22ND DISTRICT
Democratic Representative Anthony Brindisi has a rematch with the conservative Republican he ousted two years ago, Claudia Tenney.
NEW YORK’S 24TH DISTRICT
Republican Representative John Katko, who is seeking his fourth term, faces a second challenge from Democrat Dana Balter, a professor of public policy administration whom Katko defeated in 2018.
OHIO’S FIRST DISTRICT
Veteran Representative Steve Chabot, a congressman for 24 years, is being challenged by healthcare executive Kate Schroder.
OKLAHOMA’S FIFTH DISTRICT
Democratic Representative Kendra Horn, who flipped the district two years ago when it was considered a Republican bastion, is being challenged by Republican state senator Stephanie Bice.
PENNSYLVANIA’S 1ST DISTRICT
Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, a former FBI agent seeking his third term in a district that Democrat Hillary Clinton won in 2016, faces Democratic borough council member Christina Finello.
PENNSYLVANIA’S 10TH DISTRICT
Republican Representative Scott Perry, a member of the House Freedom Caucus with the most conservative voting record in Pennsylvania, is being challenged by Democratic state auditor Eugene DePasquale.
SOUTH CAROLINA’S 1ST DISTRICT
Representative Joe Cunningham, who stunned Republicans in 2018 when he became the first Democrat to represent the coastal district in nearly four decades, faces Republican Nancy Mace, the first female graduate of the Citadel military college.
TEXAS’ 7TH DISTRICT
Representative Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, a Democrat who wrested the seat away from a Republican in 2018, is defending it against Black West Point graduate Wesley Hunt, a Republican.
TEXAS’ 21ST DISTRICT
Conservative Republican Representative Chip Roy is being challenged by Wendy Davis, a Democratic former state senator who caught the national spotlight in 2013 by talking for over 11 hours to temporarily stop an anti-abortion bill.
TEXAS’ 22ND DISTRICT
Republican Representative Pete Olson is retiring. The Democrat he defeated two years ago, former diplomat Sri Kulkarni, is running again, this time against Republican Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls.
TEXAS’ 23RD DISTRICT
Republican Representative Will Hurd is retiring from this district bordering Mexico. The Democrat he barely beat in 2018, former Air Force intelligence officer Gina Ortiz Jones, is running against Navy veteran Tony Gonzales, a Republican who was endorsed by President Trump.
TEXAS’ 24TH DISTRICT
Former Trump administration official Beth Van Duyne, a Republican, and Afro-Latina Candace Valenzuela, a Democrat, are competing in this district located between Dallas and Fort Worth, where incumbent Republican Representative Kenny Marchant is retiring.
UTAH’S 4TH DISTRICT
Utah’s only Democrat in Congress, Ben McAdams, a moderate who flipped his district two years ago, faces Black Republican Burgess Owens, a former player in the National Football League.
VIRGINIA’S 2ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Freshman Representative Elaine Luria, a Democrat and former nuclear-trained surface warfare officer in the Navy, is being challenged by Scott Taylor, a former Navy Seal whom she ousted from the seat in 2018.
VIRGINIA’S 7TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Representative Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA officer who flipped this historically Republican stronghold west of Richmond two years ago, is running against Nick Freitas, a former Army Green Beret.
(Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Scott Malone and Dan Grebler)