House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries kicks off 100 days till midterms with affordability agenda

The stage is in battleground Pennsylvania. The stakes are control of the House. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries on Sunday will unveil the party's Fighting for an Affordable America agenda, as he kicks off 100 days until the midterm elections and works to focus voter attention ahead of November. In Pennsylvania's 7th District, tucked in the Lehigh Valley, Jeffries and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, are rallying support for Bob Brooks, a retired firefighter trying to unseat the incumbent Republican congressman as Democrats reach for the House majority. Jeffries, D-N.Y., said the goal is 'making clear to the American people that we're focused on lowering the cost of groceries and gas and housing, we're committed to a country that provides affordable heath care for every American.' Down the road, Brooks' rival, freshman GOP Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, is launching his own 100-day out event. It's a symbolic start to a campaign season that's been well underway for much of a tumultuous year that's included partisan redistricting battles, contentious primaries in both parties and weighty Supreme Court rulings on campaign finance. Midterm elections are often a referendum on the party in power, and the contests are set against the second term of President Donald Trump, whose military action against Iran and economic policies backed by the Republican majority in Congress are reshaping the political landscape. 'We gotta win the midterms,' Trump said during a visit last month to a Mack Truck plant in the district. But they're up against a historical trend that sees the president's party lose seats in midterm elections and confronting the unpopularity of the war with Iran. Democrats are aiming to seize on voter disapproval of the war and refocus attention back to kitchen table issues like higher costs and gas prices to propel them to wins in the narrowly divided House. Even though 435 House seats are being contested this fall, control of the House is often determined by just a handful of competitive districts. Fewer than 20 seats are among the most watched, what analysts call genuine toss-ups.