Rural voters are a big reason why Democrats might lose control of the House in the November elections, Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro and Ali Weinberg of NBC News wrote this morning on the network's First Read blog.
"There are a few reasons why Democrats are more likely to lose the House than the Senate, but one reason that hasn't received as much attention is the issue of race and geography. As it turns out, much of the competitive House battlefield is in mostly white and mostly rural congressional districts," the correspondents wrote.
President Obama's numbers are not strong in such districts, they report: "According to our most recent NBC/WSJ poll, just 36 percent of whites and 31 percent of rural Americans approved of the president’s job (by the way, those numbers are about where George W. Bush was with whites from 2006 through 2008). On the other hand, Obama may very well be able to help in several Senate races that could determine the control of that chamber -- California, Pennsylvania (Philly), and Washington state, thanks to the fact his numbers are holding up with urban and minority voters." (Read more)
UPDATE: The National Republican Congressional Committee "is unveiling 16 new additions to the top level of its 'Young Guns' list, giving 15 Republican House nominees and one promising primary candidate access to fresh fundraising and strategic support from the party," First Read reports today. "The list includes many of the GOP's top candidates to emerge from competitive nomination fights," including Illinois hopefuls Bob Dold (IL-10), Adam Kinzinger (IL-11) and Randy Hultgren (IL-14), Virginia state Sen. Robert Hurt (VA-05), former state legislators David McKinley (WV-01) and Joe Heck (NV-03) and South Dakota state Rep. Kristi Noem (SD-AL). ... Also making the cut are Todd Young (IN-09), Andy Barr (KY-06), David Harmer (CA-11), Rick Crawford (AR-01), Tom Reed (NY-29), Mike Fitzpatrick (PA-08), Mick Mulvaney (SC-05) and Keith Fimian (VA-11)."
The list also includes one new candidate who still faces a primary: Stephen Fincher in Tennessee's 8th Congressional District. First Read describes him as "a farmer and gospel singer locked in a costly primary race for retiring Democrat John Tanner's open seat." As we reported several weeks ago, Fincher is a farmer who gets federal subsidies, making him unacceptable to some Tea Party activists in northwest Tennessee.
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