Many politicos expect the Democrats to flip the U.S. House in a nationwide backlash against President Trump and the, um…ideas he represents.
Yet with so many House seats having previously rested comfortably in Republican hands, the big question is how to make it happen in those districts.
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Illinois) may have the answer.
In 2016, she won reelection in her northwestern Illinois district by 20 points. It's a largely rural, blue-collar district that went for Trump.
And some Democrats believe she just might know the secret to winning elections previously believed to be un-winnable.
She'll be the special guest at a March 24 Pinellas County Democratic Party fundraising dinner in Clearwater.
Bustos is a moderate Democrat who might not agree with the party's Bernie wing on everything. But her campaigning style — meeting as many constituents as possible more than once, eschewing pontification on wedge issues in favor of asking voters about themselves — may help candidates running in rural and exurban districts.
In the Tampa Bay area, Democrats have two safe House seats; one in Congresswoman Kathy Castor's Tampa district and one in Congressman Charlie Crist's St. Petersburg/south Pinellas County district. The latter, of course, flipped in 2016 after being Republican-controlled for decades.
Surrounding congressional districts have been pretty safely Republican for decades. The Dems of course would like to change this, and they may have a shot in November.
North Pinellas/Pasco Congressman Gus Bilirakis appears to have a serious Democratic challenger in Chris Hunter, as does Sarasota Congressman Vern Buchanan in David Shapiro.
And to the southeast, Republican Congressman Tom Rooney isn't even running for reelection in his safe Republican seat, which Trump won by 27 points in 2016.
Bustos could offer an effective blueprint for winning races the party saw as hopelessly red just two years ago.
The event takes place from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Kapok Special Events in Clearwater.
This article appears in Feb 15-22, 2018.