We will hold the House if [Democrats] use this. This is what the data tells us. But we need to get active, he said.Maloney's ominous words are coming as Democratic leaders plan an aggressive strategy for holding the House next November. They will defend a fragile majority with the support of a president who has greater plans to boost the economy. But Maloney's omen of defeat was hardly a surprise to the battleground-district Democrats he was addressing, some of whom have been sounding the alarm for weeks that the party's messaging particularly on the economy needed a reboot.It's not only the so-called frontliners that have started to alert their fellow colleagues. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D.Mich.), who leads caucus messaging, issued a wake-up call last week to another group to Democrats, telling them that Democrats needed to be more transparent about what they are doing to help the Covid-ravaged Economy.According to those present, Dingell stated that they were not breaking through at Thursday's meeting of 50 Democrats. Dingell was repeating a message that Dingell had sent last week to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, her deputies, in which she said that people don't believe Democrats are doing enough to improve the state's economy, especially its auto industry.In response to growing agita, party leaders have already increased their offensive. A White House communications warroom will help organize a Democratic messaging blitz on Biden's priorities this month. It will activate while members are still in their districts. Biden's Cabinet will be traveling around the country to promote jobs and infrastructure in swing states in New York, Iowa, and New Jersey.It is too early to conclude that Democrats will lose their majority. They would still need to have a lot of things in their favor to win next November. Both parties are currently neck-and-neck in fundraising. The new congressional maps that could significantly determine the fate of Democrats are still months away.Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, are working together to pass a huge Biden-led spending bill that Democrats hope will increase their chances of stopping Washington's historic trend of losing ground in its first congressional midterm.Persico stated that the point was to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that we all understand the stakes. The good news is that everything we do and everything we talk about doing is extremely popular.He stated that the same polling had shown that Biden's infrastructure plan was popular," and added: "Nothing about altering our agenda is indicated by this poll. It's all about the emphasis.Still, a growing number of battleground-district incumbents are privately alarmed by new data that showed the party struggling on bellwether issues such as the economy, despite their trillion-dollar pandemic rescue effort this year and Bidens generally steady approval rating. They are concerned that Maloney's harsh warning, once publicized, could have a significant impact on fundraising and recruitment.Maloney presented a July poll that was commissioned by DCCC. It showed that a Democratic candidate fell behind a Republican candidate by six points in a general poll of swing districts. More than 4000 likely voters in 2022 were surveyed in over 40 congressional districts.Democrats warned that a generic poll of 16 months before an election doesn't necessarily indicate how people will vote in that race. Also, individual candidates are more popular than a head-to-head party-only poll.However, the same survey found that only 42 percent trusted Democrats on the economic front, even though key elements of the party's agenda such as expanding the child tax credit are still very popular.According to one Democratic member present at the briefing, it looked very dismal to me. He spoke candidly under anonymity.Another Democrat, Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D.Va.), attended the meeting and said that she disagreed with the assessment that Democrats would lose control of the House if today's election was held.Wexton, who won a GOP district in 2018, is now co-chair of frontline program. She said that she wanted to ensure we turn out every vote in 2018 or 2020, and that she was certain she would keep her seat next year.Last week, the data was presented to full caucus. Maloney highlighted other risks to party members, including inflation and the shortage of workers in low-wage sectors.He stressed that Democrats have a powerful tool in their arsenal. Biden's agenda, which polls strongly at $1.9 trillion, includes the party's Covid relief bill. This included small business aid as well as massive safety net expansions.According to congressional Democrats, the problem is making sure they get credit.The DCCCs survey also found serious weaknesses in GOP candidates' positions, including extremism linked to Jan. 6th and vaccines.After hearing Trump's lies, 57% of battleground voters expressed serious doubts about GOP legislators. 56 percent said the same thing after hearing that GOP members had spread the lie about Trump's election. Some vulnerable Democrats believe their fellow Democrats could be more supportive of their cause by sidestepping disputes about culture-war flashpoints such as police funding and critical race theory.For many moderates, the DCCC polling, while alarming, is a breather from a campaign arm that they claimed was slow to recognize worrying trends in the previous election. House Democrats lost more than 12 seats in 2020's race, a GOP defeat that very few saw coming.The DCCCs survey wasn't the only one to find a Democratic weakness in the economy. The centrist Democratic group Third Way released a national survey last month warning of a trust gap in the economy among congressional Democrats.While voters disapprove of the congressional Democrats' economic handling by a margin between 41 percent and 55 percent, they gave Biden much greater marks. 50 percent of voters said that they approve of Biden's economic handling.These groups offer advice for congressional Democrats during the midterms. Register as Biden Democrats.This report was contributed by Ally Mutnick, Nicholas Wu, and Olivia Beavers.
