The Cook Political Report (02/02/12)

The Democratic Party has unveiled an initial list of 36 U.S. congressional districts currently held by Republicans but targeted for takeover by the Democrats. The list—promoted as “Red to Blue”—will have to be made longer for Democrats to have a legitimate chance of capturing the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, since they will probably need to win between 35 to 45 newly created and Republican-held seats. Anticipating the need to expand the playing field, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has added a list of 18 “emerging races,” most of which will inevitably be added to “Red to Blue” when candidates meet certain fundraising and/or polling benchmarks.