Steve Stivers

National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Steve Stivers had a message for House Republicans on Tuesday morning: keep talking about the tax overhaul.

The Ohio Republican presented attendees at a GOP conference meeting with polling that showed voters have not heard from them lately about the tax overhaul, according to a source with knowledge of the discussion. Stivers “implored them to continue to sell it,” the source said.

Updated 12:41 p.m. | Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Charlie Dent announced Tuesday that he would resign from Congress “in the coming weeks,” adding later that his last day would come sometime in May.

Dent, a moderate who was first elected to his 15th District in 2004, had already announced he was not running for re-election. In a statement Tuesday that was also posted on Twitter, he said he decided to leave the Hill early “after discussions with my family and careful reflection.” 

House Republicans’ most prolific fundraiser is vowing to continue to do all he can to help them keep the majority in the midterms.

But Speaker Paul D. Ryan’s announcement Wednesday that he doesn’t want to be a part of that majority next year has only crystalized the perception that the House GOP is in for a drubbing in November.

Texas GOP Rep. Blake Farenthold resigned Friday, roughly four months after news broke that he had settled a sexual harassment lawsuit with taxpayer money.

“While I planned on serving out the remainder of my term in Congress, I know in my heart it’s time for me to move along and look for new ways to serve,” Farenthold said in a statement Friday. He said he sent a letter to GOP Gov. Greg Abbott resigning his position effective 5 p.m. Friday.

Rep. Ryan A. Costello’s decision to retire has put Pennsylvania Republicans hoping to hold on to his seat in a bind, and they’re now weighing whether to back the only Republican candidate left in the race.

GOP leaders from Chester County will hold a conference call Thursday to discuss supporting Republican Greg McCauley, a tax lawyer who also filed to run in the 6th District before Costello announced his retirement, according to Val DiGiorgio, the state and Chester County GOP chairman. The county GOP was previously backing Costello, having announced its endorsements in February.

Democratic Congressional Committee Chairman Ben Ray Luján remains noncommittal on whether Democrats will spend more resources ahead of the special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th District.

Democrat Conor Lamb will face GOP state Rep. Rick Saccone in the March 13 election in a district that President Donald Trump won by nearly 20 points in 2016. The seat was vacated by GOP Rep. Tim Murphy, who resigned amid allegations the anti-abortion rights congressman encouraged his mistress to pursue an abortion.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee now has more than 100 targets in this year’s midterms, the committee announced Thursday. It has added seven more GOP-held districts to its target list. 

A DCCC memo released Thursday detailing the new targets said the expanded target list is the committee’s most expansive one in at least a decade. Democrats are now targeting 98 Republican seats, and three open Democratic seats, bringing the total to 101. 

Updated 5:15 p.m. | New Jersey Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, announced Monday he will not run for re-election in November.

He is the eighth Republican committee chairman to announce his retirement.

Rep. Patrick Meehan will not run for re-election, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Thursday. The Pennsylvania Republican had been accused of sexual harassment and using taxpayer funds to settle a misconduct case with a former staffer.

The Inquirer reported that Meehan wrote a letter to his campaign chairman about his decision. His office did not respond to a request for comment.