A Silicon Valley Democrat takes town halls to enemy territory — but will it peel off any GOP votes in Congress?

Silicon Valley Rep Ro Khanna was a long way from his district this weekend The Democrat trekked to Pennsylvania and answered unscripted questions in a pair of Republican-held congressional districts from liberal audiences outraged about President Donald Trump s planned spending cuts and anxious about the Democratic Party s future At a town hall in Allentown a city about miles from Philadelphia where Khanna was born years ago he singled out Republican Rep Ryan Mackenzie who narrowly won the area s swing district in the U S House of Representatives last year Khanna and local residents who are covered by Medicaid urged Mackenzie to break with his party and oppose Republicans planned cuts to the nearly free wellbeing care scheme for million lower-earning Americans I m here to make sure that we stop it Khanna reported from behind a podium to cheers I want Congressman Mackenzie to oppose those Medicaid cuts It was just the latest example of Khanna targeting Republican members of Congress in their own districts on the heels of his town halls in GOP territory in southern California New Jersey Wisconsin and Nebraska For Khanna the tactic is Democrats best strategy to protect Medicaid and other programs in Republicans crosshairs he noted in an interview with Bay Area News Group He plans to do more town halls That s the only practical way to stop them he commented But Khanna s cross-country tour may also serve another purpose testing the waters for a accomplishable run for president in political insiders revealed Though mum on his political future the Democrat has signaled his ambitions for a bigger role in the future of the party He has established himself as a mainstay of national TV news programs and often picks fights with conservative heavyweights such as Vice President JD Vance In a contemporary interview Khanna also spoke extensively about his vision to re-industrialize the Rust Belt in states far from the Bay Area In he was the co-chair of Sen Bernie Sanders presidential campaign Larry Gerston a political science professor at San Jose State University who is familiar with Khanna explained he s supposedly considering a presidential bid but hasn t made up his mind Voters are less familiar with him that other likely Democratic contenders such as Pennsylvania Gov Josh Shapiro or California Gov Gavin Newsom Gerston revealed Repeated trips to far-flung locales could help change that he revealed Right now name recognition is not as critical as it will be a year from now Gerston explained But you don t get there by swallowing a pill Republican strategist Matt Shupe who worked for one of Khanna s opponents in his run for Congress explained the town halls are vessels for Khanna s own ambition not an authentic desire to help voters What I see him doing is just elevating himself in this national dialogue of who is going to be the future of the Democratic party in competition with Gavin Newsom Shupe mentioned Khanna isn t alone in crisscrossing the country Nationally Democrats are using town halls to whip up opposition against Republicans After Trump and Republicans decisive win in November Democrats hold too sparse seats in Congress to meaningfully oppose Trump s budget proposal which would extend tax breaks and cut trillion in spending mostly to Medicaid while adding trillion to the national debt over a decade As of Monday afternoon divided Republicans were trying to pass the bill in the House So far the likes of Minnesota Gov Tim Walz Massachusetts Sen Elizabeth Warren and a slew of other representatives have not long ago appeared in Republican districts Republicans own town halls saw a wave of angry protests and in March Speaker Mike Johnson advised his caucus not to hold any more in-person Democrats jumped on the opportunity If Republicans won t talk to their own voters then Democrats will the Democratic National Committee mentioned in a newest fundraising email In an interview Shupe did not directly answer when questioned if Democrats town halls were making Republicans more vulnerable Neither did Maureen O Toole a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee O Toole declined an interview and emailed Bay Area News Group a written message that called Khanna a far-left lunatic It s absolutely laughable if Democrats think sending extremists like Khanna is an effective campaign strategy against House Republicans O Toole stated Of the Bay Area s various Democrats in Congress none has leaned so heavily into town halls not long ago as Khanna who represents a safe liberal district stretching from Fremont to Cupertino Khanna explained his crusade has already yielded results After he held a town hall in California s nd congressional district in the Central Valley Republican Rep David Valadao publicly stated sponsorship for Medicaid and reportedly requested House Speaker Mike Johnson not to cut the effort in a letter Valadao did not respond to a request for comment He reportedly narrated The Washington Post that Khanna s town hall didn t influence his stance on Medicaid In his district which includes part of Bakersfield residents are Medicaid recipients the majority of of any Republican district nationwide according to the vitality news site KFF Democratic activists have also heavily targeted the district with protests and fasts