House Democrats are targeting often-conservative rural districts as part of a nationwide drive to gain control of the House in the 2018 midterm elections, said DCCC chairman Rep. Ben Ray Lujan. He named third-term Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois, a House Agriculture Committee member, as “chair of heartland engagement” with the dual jobs of advising Democratic candidates and reaching out to rural voters.
“The heartland is critical to winning back the majority, and we must do a better job listening to the hardworking families from small towns and rural communities if we hope to earn their support,” said Bustos in a statement. She already is one of three co-chairs of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee. Democrats need 24 additional House seats to win a majority from Republicans, who now hold a 241–193 margin, with one vacant seat.
Bustos “has been adamant that health care—not the Russia investigation—is at the top of her constituents’ minds and that the party needs to focus on the bread-and-butter issues that drove many rural voters to vote for President Donald Trump,” said Roll Call.