According to a recent poll, Democratic freshman Rep. Raul Ruiz in California’s 36th Congressional District is vulnerable for defeat in 2014.
The new poll, commissioned by the National Republican Congressional Committee, paired Ruiz with potential GOP challenger Brian Nestande, and found the Republican leading Ruiz 44% to 41%.
“House Republicans are expanding the playing field and putting Democrats on defense on their own turf,” NRCC Chairman Greg Walden wrote in a memo released alongside the poll.
While the 3-point advantage is within the poll’s margin of error, it’s a sign that Ruiz, who narrowly won election to the seat in 2012, will have a tough battle ahead of him for re-election.
Nestande, currently serving as an assemblyman for the Palm Desert area, announced in April he is planning to run.
The 36th District will be one of the more competitive races in next year’s midterm elections. Raul Ruiz narrowly defeated Republican incumbent Mary Bono Mack by a little over ten thousand votes last year, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has placed him on their list of vulnerable Democratic incumbents. According to February data from the California Secretary of State’s office, Democrats have a razor-thin advantage in the district’s voter registration of less than one percent, making it a true swing district. Republicans have targeted the seat in 2014 for a possible takeover.
Nestande used to serve as Chief of Staff to former Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack, who was defeated in 2012 by Ruiz, and thus has access and familiarity with political allies in the district the Republican will need to win in ’14.
