Freshman Republican John Faso and veteran Democrat Rick Nolan, both of whom serve on the House Agriculture Committee, are among the 10 most vulnerable House incumbents a year ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, says Roll Call newspaper. Both have trailed their challengers in recent fundraising.
Faso, who’s rated as the third-most vulnerable incumbent, won election by 8 percentage points in 2016, 1 point better than President Trump did in his district. “But the central New York district voted twice for Obama, so Democrats see an opportunity here,” said Roll Call. The top contenders among Democrats are Iraq War veteran Pat Ryan and attorney Antonio Delgado. Both raised more money than Faso in the third quarter of this year, and Delgado has more campaign cash on hand than Faso does, says Roll Call.
Nolan, who represents the northeastern quadrant of Minnesota, is No. 9 on Roll Call’s list of vulnerable representatives. He barely won reelection in 2014 and 2016 in a district that went 54 to 39 percent for Trump last November. “Nolan’s efforts to move closer to mining interests in the Iron Range” netted him an opponent in the Democratic primary, says Roll Call. The Republican nominee is likely to be Pete Stauber, who the newspaper says has “more authentic ties to the district’s working-class voters” than the wealthy businessman who ran against Nolan in the last two races.