Former House candidates launch comeback campaigns for 2024

Four candidates across Nebraska, Michigan, Oregon and Montana recently announced that they will once again be throwing their hats in the ring for the House despite defeats during the 2022 election.

Democrat, attorney and small business owner Jamie McLeod-Skinner launched her campaign for Oregon’s 5th District on Monday in a race to defeat Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

McLeod-Skinner’s repeat bid comes after she lost to Chavez-DeRemer last year by just 2 percentage points. 

In a press release, the McLeod-Skinner campaign stated its aim to defeat Chavez-DeRemer’s “MAGA agenda” while furthering a “pragmatic problem-solving approach to Congress." McLeod-Skinner unseated a Democratic incumbent in a 2022 primary before losing the general election. If McLeod-Skinner wins, she will become the first openly LGBTQ+ member of Congress from Oregon.

Oregon’s 5th District is a top Democratic target since Chavez-DeRemer is one of 18 Republicans representing districts that Biden won in 2020. Biden won the 5th District by 9 points with 53% in 2020, according to Daily Kos Elections.

In Nebraska’s 2nd District, a competitive congressional race is brewing as Democratic state Sen. Tony Vargas announced last week that he is once again challenging four-term Republican Rep. Don Bacon.

In 2022, Bacon defeated Vargas by nearly 3 points, winning 51% of the vote to Vargas’ 49%. 

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Bacon is another Republican running in a district Biden won in 2020, but he has won tough races in the past despite holding a key swing district.

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Republican candidates who lost in 2022 are also making second runs for office next year. Former Republican state Sen. Tom Barrett announced Sunday that he is running again in Michigan’s 7th District — a race that will be key to the battle for the House majority.

Barrett, a 22-year Army veteran who served four years in the Michigan state House and Senate, is one of the first candidates to launch a campaign for the competitive district, which is now an open-seat race with Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin running for Senate. Former Democratic state Sen. Curtis Hertel, Jr., is also running.

In 2022, Barrett lost to Slotkin by 5 points in what was one of the most expensive House races in the country. Biden won the district by less than one point in 2020.

In Montana, Democratic attorney Monica Tranel launched another run against GOP Rep. Ryan Zinke in the 1st District. In 2022, Zinke defeated Tranel by just 3 points, though then-President Donald Trump won the 1st District by 7 points in 2020.