House Republicans have been struggling mightily to recruit candidates in key battleground districts, given the likelihood of serving in the minority, possibly with a new Democratic president
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Party strategists said they are already beginning to see an impeachment-fueled surge in base enthusiasm — evidenced by an uptick in fundraising and interest from potential candidates — that they believe can animate sleepy races in the 31 Democratic-held seats that Trump carried in 2016. Democrats’ move toward impeachment was part of what helped persuade Crafts to challenge Golden for his rural Maine seat that the president won by 10 points, though the incumbent is 1 of just 8 House Democrats who has yet to back the inquiry. Eric Brakey, the 2018 GOP Senate nominee, is also running, but Crafts said others encouraged him to enter, including former Gov. Paul LePage.
"We could not get a single thing going on in that race." said Guy Harrison, the NRCC’s executive director in the 2010 cycle. "We ran Young Guns ads there. We got three calls within the next week, and that race came online." One of those calls was from Vicky Hartzler, who beat Skelton and still holds the seat.
Impeachment could provide a means to play catch up. The RNC piloted a successful joint fundraising initiative last month with an email blast that directed supporters to a page where they could split a donation between Trump and a fund for the eventual nominee who will take on Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a swing-seat freshman in a Michigan district that the president carried by 7 points.
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