Democrats are using town halls to go on offense against their Republican counterparts as the party scrambles to capitalize on a weak point: GOP lawmakers taking heat for President Trump.
Democratic Party leaders argue that images of Republican lawmakers being pressed and booed at home-district town halls in response to Trump’s agenda is reminiscent of Tea Party town halls during former President Obama’s first term.
Last week at their annual retreat, House Democrats announced they would travel to House Republican districts to hold town halls, while the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Association of State Democratic Committees announced a joint effort, dubbed “People’s Town Halls,” to target vulnerable Republicans. As a part of that effort, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) hosted town halls in GOP districts in Iowa and Nebraska last weekend. Additional town halls are planned for this week in Pennsylvania’s 7th and 10th Congressional Districts.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) are also hitting the road for their “Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here” tour, which includes a stop in Rep. Gabe Evans’s (R-Colo.) district, as well as stops in Nevada and Arizona.
Meanwhile, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) has helped build crowds at a number of town halls featuring Democratic Sens. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.) and Michael Bennet (Colo.) this month, targeting vulnerable House Republicans in their respective states.
“In this world of wondering what is effective as Trump floods the zone, one thing that is indisputably true is that as Trump voters and veterans speak out in local meetings, House Republicans are feeling the pain,” said PCCC co-founder Adam Green, adding he hopes that effort will become a “caucus-wide intentional strategy of going to House Republican districts.”
House Republicans have been pressed by town hall attendees in recent weeks on potential cuts to Social Security and the Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts to slash government spending, with many of the interactions going viral.
Reps. Bill Huizenga (Mich.) and Chuck Edwards (N.C.) were the latest Republicans to face heated forums, with Huizenga being pressed during a telephone town hall and Edwards during an in-person event.
“They’re afraid of Donald Trump. They’re afraid of Elon Musk. They’re afraid of the votes they’re taking, and they’re not willing to talk to people whose lives they’re impacting and upending,” said one Democratic operative, referring to House Republicans.
Republicans have dismissed the intense district meetings, arguing the events are being filled with Democratic agitators. Trump claimed earlier this month that “paid troublemakers” were attending the forums.
However, the viral town halls caused enough concern among Republicans that National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) advised his colleagues during a closed-door meeting earlier this month to avoid in-person town halls. Instead, Hudson encouraged members to participate in virtual town halls or livestreamed events.
But there are risks for Democrats in traveling to red territory. Recent national polls show Democrats with record-low favorability ratings, while the party grapples with how to unite following a dramatic divide over support for a GOP-written government funding measure.
An NBC News poll released over the weekend found that only 27 percent of voters said they had a positive view of the Democratic Party, while a separate CNN poll showed the party’s favorability rating at a record low of 29 percent.
Republicans also note that the events being put on by Democrats are, by nature, partisan events, appealing to Democrats and left-leaning voters.
“They like to pretend it’s all organic, but the reality is they’re working with different outside groups to essentially storm these town halls,” said Preya Samsundar, a GOP communications consultant.
But Democrats maintain that Trump voters are the target audience for the forums.
“The cream of the crop people who should be empowered to speak out are former Trump voters and veterans talking about why Social Security and Medicaid and veterans’ health care being cut is not what they voted for or expected from Trump,” Green said.
“There are a lot of Trump voters, lifelong Republicans, veterans, who are feeling the crunch as a result of Trump policies but have no way to express that pain. It’s just pent up privately,” he continued. “Our challenge should be giving them a forum to make their voices public.”
Republicans are also brushing off the recent Democratic efforts to campaign in GOP districts, using Walz as a scapegoat.
“Tim Walz’s town hall stop in Wisconsin is simply a desperate attempt to save face and remain relevant after his embarrassing defeat, which sent him back to Minnesota in disgrace,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) said in a statement after Walz visited his district over the weekend.
Even some Democrats say they are wary of having national figures like Walz, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez at town hall events, warning that the focus should be on local figures.
“It’s not a strategy that I think can get the best results if we’re going to be completely honest here,” said Brian Lemek, founder and executive director of Defend the Vote. “We don’t do ourselves any favors if we have nationally known figures in these districts if they’re not representative of the people there.”
