Democratic Rep. Mike Levin, whose 49th District includes Camp Pendleton, on Thursday boasted his being elected vice chair of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
But the two-term congressman may need more than the Marines to win a third two-year term.
The day before he was chosen to serve a second term as chair of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity — which deals with veterans’ education, employment and training, and housing — Levin was targeted for defeat by the National Republican Congressional Committee, the fundraising group devoted to taking back the House.
“To hold Democrats accountable for their socialist agenda, the NRCC is strategically targeting at least 47 vulnerable Democrat members in 2022,” said John Billings, the group’s executive director.
Eight of them — including Levin — are labeled “underperforming Democrats” who in 2020 won by fewer than 10 percentage points and underperformed Joe Biden on the presidential ballot.
Billings said Reps. Katie Porter of south-central Orange County and Levin “have consistently taken far-left votes and are out of touch with their constituents. In 2020, Porter and Levin underperformed President Biden by 4.4% and 6.5%, respectively. With Democrats only moving further to the left.”
In November, San Juan Capistrano’s Levin defeated San Clemente’s Brian Maryott by 6.2 percentage points in a district that straddles coastal North County and southern Orange County. In October, Democrats held a slim voter registration lead over Republicans in the purple district — 35.2% to 34%.
Adam Berkowitz, Levin’s campaign manager, didn’t directly address the NRCC hit list when asked to comment.
“Mike won a decisive victory last November because he’s delivered results for the people he represents,” Berkowitz said in a statement. “He had more than a dozen bills signed into law during the 116th Congress, and he’ll continue to focus on that bipartisan work for his constituents.”
He added: “While the NRCC continues to peddle partisan attacks, Mike is working to get more COVID relief to our community to beat this virus and help small businesses.”
The NRCC says it has $12.6 million cash on hand with no debt while its counterpart — the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — has $20.9 million cash on hand with $14 million “in unpaid bills.”
“For those counting at home, that means Republicans’ financial advantage is over $5.6 million,” the GOP said, adding: “Republicans also flipped 15 seats, won 28 out of the 29 most competitive districts and lost zero incumbents in 2020.”
More to the point: The NRCC spent $284.9 million in 2020 federal elections, well behind the $330.4 million spent by the DCCC in that two-year cycle, according to opensecrets.org.
Republicans are counting on history if not money.
Since World War II, the NRCC said, “the president’s party has lost an average of 27 House seats in midterm elections. With full control of the federal government, House Democrats will be held responsible for their socialist agenda and efforts to increase the government’s involvement in every aspect of voters’ lives.”
The Sacramento Bee on Wednesday echoed that line: “Typically a new president party’s loses House seats in the next election. Currently, Democrats hold 222 seats in the House to Republicans’ 212 seats — a thin majority.”
But The New York Times cited a wild card: “The 2022 elections have the potential to carry a dynamic unseen in previous midterm contests — a referendum on a previous president’s actions. Democrats have already signaled they aim to tie House Republicans to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol by a crowd incited by Mr. Trump.”
Another wrinkle: What will congressional district boundaries look like in 2022?
The Republicans’ list is speculative, said the Times, “given that it will be months before states are able to begin drawing new congressional district lines. The Census Bureau is already late in delivering reapportionment and redistricting data to states, delaying until at least late summer a process that typically begins in February or March.”
