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With the election of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker, The MAGA movement is now in control of the legislative agenda for the House of Representatives. McCarthy had to make so many concessions to gain support for his bid, that he willingly became a puppet to the ultra-MAGA’s and is now one of the weakest Speakers in American history.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Jim Jordan and Paul Gosar are controlling an extremist agenda that includes manufacturing a global financial crisis so they can finally destroy Social Security and Medicare, meritless investigations meant to embarrass the Biden family, and ending support for Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion because they believe the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is worthy of their admiration.
To counteract this extremist – and wildly out-of-touch agenda – The Lincoln Project will focus its efforts in 2023 and 2024 in 18 Congressional districts that voted for both a GOP Congressional candidate and President Joe Biden. In these districts, voters explicitly voted against Donald Trump’s mayhem but still consider themselves traditional GOP voters.
These voters are the “Bannon Line” voters that The Lincoln Project has successfully persuaded for 3 years. “Bannon Line” voters are traditionally moderate and conservative leaning, influenced by issues such as crime and the economy – but have become pro-democratic voters that support balancing the extreme wings of both parties through their ballot choices. Such voters split their ballots between the parties, switch party votes depending on the cycle, and allow the news cycle to determine their votes.
The Lincoln Project is uniquely positioned to take up this fight. It is the only non-partisan group engaged in fighting against the totalitarian forces that are trying to destroy the democratic traditions of the nation. Using our skills honed over decades of political battles, we know what motivates voters and drives grassroots action. In the coming months, we will continue to lead the charge against this unpatriotic cult in the battle for democracy.
We will show the voters in these districts how support for these Representatives empowers an agenda designed to crush working families and weaken our democratic institutions. To persuade these voters, the effort will demonstrate how the traditional GOP of the past no longer exists and there is no going back to a time before Trump. That the entire party infrastructure has been taken over by anti-democratic ideologues who only want to take power and wage a culture war that rolls back individual rights and wrecks our democratic institutions.
Our goal is to put these 18 Representatives on the defensive and never allow them to coast. We must weaken these incumbents’ standing with their voters, drive them away from the destructive and divisive policies of MAGA, and ultimately make them unelectable to the voters of their districts.
We will work with our Union partners to identify opportunities to promote our message, drive grassroots engagement and outreach, establish political partnerships, and run vigorous social media campaigns to reach the district.
The 18 Congressional Targets are:
ARIZONA
01 – David Schweikert
06 – Juan Ciscomani
CALIFORNIA
13 – John Duarte
22 – David Valadao
27 – Mike Garcia
40 – Young Kim
45 – Michelle Steel
NEBRASKA
02 – Don Bacon
NEW JERSEY
07 – Tom Kean Jr.
NEW YORK
01 – Nick LaLota
03 – George Santos
04 – Anthony D’Esposito
17 – Mike Lawler
19 – Marc Molinaro
22 – Brandon Williams
OREGON
05 – Lori Chavez DeRemer
PENNSYLVANIA
01 – Brian Fitzpatrick
VIRGINIA
02 – Jen Kiggans
It is important to highlight that the 2022 elections were a near miss for democracy. MAGA, and the anti-democratic forces that make it up, is not yet in decline no matter what the prognosticators say on television.
MAGA is in control of the House of Representatives, runs the Republican party’s infrastructure, and is fighting to win federal and local elections. Donald Trump is still the driving force in the Party, and anyone wishing to supplant him will need to win over the MAGA forces. For the rest of 2023 and into 2024, MAGA will continue to engage in political and cultural arson to sow distrust in our democratic institutions and divide our nation.
The Lincoln Project will engage these forces and will not rest until MAGA is defeated and guarantees democracy will prevail for future generations.
The Lincoln Project is a leading pro-democracy organization in the United States — dedicated to the preservation, protection, and defense of democracy.
To learn more about The Lincoln Project, go to www.lincolnproject.us.
