The 2024 candidate roster that Democrats released Monday to take on vulnerable Republicans and win back the House majority featured several prominent figures from the past.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee unveiled its first slate of candidates selected as part of its “Red to Blue” program, which is designed to flip several red districts to Democratic control in November. Through the program, Democratic challengers will receive strategic guidance, as well as fundraising support and staff resources, to take on GOP incumbents.

“House Democrats have multiple paths to winning back the majority, and this incredible slate of candidates are at the forefront of these efforts,” DCCC Chairwoman Suzan DelBene said in a statement. “These candidates reflect the broad and diverse coalition that will be critical to Democrats’ success in 2024, and their commitment to solving the urgent problems facing everyday Americans stand in stark contrast to the MAGA fealty of their opponents.”

The first cohort includes 17 candidates vying for competitive House seats in states such as New York, Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Montana, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia. Several of the candidates backed by the DCCC are seeking rematches against the Republicans who defeated them in 2022. 

Nine of the candidates are facing off against the opponents they lost to in the last cycle in districts that will determine the balance of power in the House come November. 

Some of the most competitive rematches are likely to be for the seats held by Reps. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), John Duarte (R-CA), David Valadao (R-CA), Marc Molinaro (R-NY), and Ken Calvert (R-CA), which are all rated as toss-ups by the nonpartisan CookPoliticalReport. Those incumbents will face Democratic challengers Kirsten Engel, Adam Gray, Rudy Salas, Josh Riley, and Will Rollins, respectively. 

Other rematches include Michelle Vallejo, who will challenge Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-TX); Tony Vargas, who will face Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE); Monica Tranel, who will face Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT); and Christina Bohannan, who will face Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA).

A handful of other candidates selected in the DCCC’s cohort are also not new to the House, although they won’t be facing rematches when they’re on the ballot later this year. Former New York Reps. Mondaire Jones and Tom Suozzi will compete to reclaim their House seats after choosing not to run in those districts in 2022. 

Other candidates selected for the program include Janelle Bynum, who is challenging Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR); George Whitesides, who is challenging Rep. Mike Garcia (R-CA); Lanon Baccam, who is challenging Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA); and Missy Cotter Smasal, who is challenging Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA). Candidates Adam Frisch and Curtis Hertel are running in open districts in Colorado and Michigan, respectively. Frisch nearly beat Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) in 2022, but instead, she’ll compete in a different, safer red seat this year.

National Republicans have already brushed off the threat of the “Red to Blue” cohort, comparing their revived campaigns to “crusty old lasagna.”

“No one likes week-old crusty lasagna, but in desperate times, you re-serve it while trying to convince your kids it’s the greatest meal of their life,” said Will Reinert, national press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “The same goes for the DCCC — these candidates were a flop last cycle, and no amount of spin will convince voters they are not too extreme to represent them in Congress.”

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All 435 seats are up for grabs in 2024 as Republicans seek to hold their slim majority in the lower chamber. Of these, 42 are considered competitive, with most of those held by Democrats compared to Republicans, giving the GOP a slight advantage as it prepares for the next election cycle.

However, of the 42 competitive seats, 18 are held by Republicans in districts that voted for President Joe Biden in 2020, compared to just five Democrats who must defend their seats in districts carried by Trump. That means there are just enough vulnerable GOP-held seats to keep things competitive heading into the next election cycle.