Two months ago, Republican operatives feared that presidential nominee Donald Trump would destroy their chances to

Now things look much brighter for the party after a rough stretch for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. The Senate appears less at risk because the fact that Trump is the GOP nominee doesn’t seem to be held against GOP incumbents. Gerrymandering appears to have left the House Republican majority safe, perhaps until 2022, after the next census.

But in California, at least, the assumption remains the Trump will drag down GOP candidates in congressional races. That’s why the state Democratic Party is seeking in seven swing districts to target Republicans who are “running on the Trump ticket,” according to a party statement last week as it launched the WrongForCA.com website and related social media efforts.

Four of the Republicans are incumbents: Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, Darrell Issa, R-Vista, Steve Knight, R-Lancaster, and David Valadao, R-Hanford.

The other three are businessman Justin Fareed, seeking the seat of retiring Democratic Rep. Lois Capps in the Santa Barbara area; businesswoman Denise Gitsham, who’s going against Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego, and Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, who is targeting Rep. Ami Bera, D-Elk Grove

Michael Soller, communications director for the California Democratic Party, likened Trump’s candidacy to a “sick joke.”

The best hope of sinking a GOP incumbent may be in Issa’s district, which straddles north San Diego County and south Orange County and appears to be moving leftward from its traditional Republicanism. Issa only got 51 percent of the vote in the June primary and has a higher-profile opponent than in past elections, former Marine Lt. Col. Doug Applegate. Running against a poorly funded, little-known Democrat in November 2014, Issa took 60 percent of the vote. The former chairman of the House oversight committee has endorsed Trump, while also making clear his lack of enthusiasm for the New York billionaire.

In November 2014, Denham won with 56 percent of the vote. Knight won with 53 percent and Valadao with 58 percent.

GOP could take first CA Democratic House seat since 1998

Of the other three races, the most surprising is the battle for the seat of the retiring Capps. The Cook Political Report moved the race between Fareed and Santa Barbara County Supervisor Salud Carbajal from “solid Democrat” to “leaning Democrat” last week after Carbajal’s campaign released a seemingly credible Tarrance Group poll showing Fareed up 46 percent to 43 percent.

But as the Cook analysis noted, California Republicans have not won a congressional district represented by a Democrat since 1998. That was when then-Assemblyman Steven T. Kuykendall, R-Rancho Palos Verdes, defeated Janice Hahn of the dynastic Los Angeles political family for a seat that had previously been held by Jane Harman, who ran for governor in 1998. Harman defeated Kuykendall in 2000, making him the only House incumbent to lose that year.

Hanh succeeded Harman in 2011.

Fresh faces

Three have come from the private sector, with two making their political debut. Rep. John Garamendi, D-Walnut Creek, will draw a challenge from trauma surgeon N. Eugene Cleek, although, according to Roll Call, Garamendi’s district has been marked safe, the Times added.

And in a race drawing some national attention, San Diego businesswoman Denise Gitsham, who boasts significant work experience in Washington, announced her candidacy two weeks ago against Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego. Last year, Peters edged out San Diego city councilman Carl DeMaio by just four points, raising hopes among Republicans of a pickup this time around.

DeMaio notably re-teamed last month with former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed on a new ballot initiative aimed at threading the needle of popular support for public pension reform. The effort would trim benefits “only for future employees, thereby leaving the promises made to current workers untouched,” as the Sacramento Bee reported in October. “The measures also appeal to Californians who, according to a recent survey by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California, strongly support the idea of controlling pension benefits for new hires via the ballot box.” He has not opted to try again against Peters, whose district Roll Call has also marked safe.

An unusual profile

Campaign Photo: Denise Gitsham

Gitsham, however, has mustered a level of support of a different quality and quantity than Peters might have anticipated. “The daughter of a Chinese mother who immigrated through Taiwan, and a Canadian-born father who moved to New Jersey and spent 20 years in the Air Force,” Gitsham, as U-T San Diego noted, wound up in Texas, where she worked for Karl Rove to elect George W. Bush president. “She then gained a post in the White House and worked for Harriet Miers, the president’s counsel and one-time Supreme Court nominee,” the paper added. “Gitsham later graduated from law school at Georgetown University and practiced in Washington with a K Street firm.”

In addition to a resume relatively distinctive in current state Republican politics, Gitsham has amassed some notable numbers in the early race to fundraise. (She will face a primary challenge from former Marine Jacquie Atkinson.) In a press release and on Facebook, Gitsham’s campaign trumpeted its haul of $100,000 in its first week. “It’s clear people want a fresh face in Congress and they are responding to my candidacy,” Gitsham said. “There’s a lot of work to do but I’m really encouraged by our start.”

Precarious positioning

Despite Peters’ safe rating, data collected by the NRCC has indicated that Gitsham’s campaign appears to be a good bet this election season. “Recent polling by the National Republican Congressional Committee shows that incumbent Scott Peters is one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the country,” as Gitsham’s release went on. “Only 34 percent of voters believe Peters deserves reelection, while 46 percent want someone new.”

One indication of Peters’ political position, according to analysts, was his willingness to side with Republicans and vote for the so-called SAFE Act, designed to tighten screening for Syrian and Iraqi refugees. “The administration has not made the case to me that today’s bill will shut down or unduly delay our existing process,” Peters said in a statement, according to KQED News. “It is not too burdensome for federal agencies to certify that admitted refugees will not endanger our communities.” San Diego has already become home for one of the state’s biggest communities of Syrian refugees, observed KQED.