U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter is among the House Democrats included on an expanded target list released Wednesday by a national Republican group that says it’s expanding the map following GOP wins in Virginia.

The Arvada Democrat is seeking a ninth term in Colorado’s 7th Congressional District under new boundaries approved Monday by the state’s Supreme Court.

He’s one of 13 Democrats who found themselves added to the list of incumbents the National Republican Congressional Committee says it considers vulnerable in next year’s midterms in the wake of Glenn Youngkin’s election Tuesday as governor of Virginia.

“In a cycle like this, no Democrat is safe,” said U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, the Minnesota Republican who heads the NRCC. “Voters are rejecting Democrat policies that have caused massive price increases, opened our borders, and spurred a nationwide crime wave.”

Perlmutter is the only Colorado Democrat on the NRCC’s list, which grew overnight from 57 to 70 targeted incumbents.

Democrats currently hold a 220-212 majority in the House, with three vacancies. Republicans expect to pick up enough seats to take the majority next year, pointing to a longstanding tendency for midterm voters to punish the party that controls the White House, as well as sagging approval numbers for President Joe Biden and the Democrats’ agenda.

Perlmutter brushed off the new designation in a written statement to Colorado Politics.

“I’m excited to meet the many new voters who live in the new and incredibly beautiful 7th Congressional District,” he said. “Though the new district is much larger and expands beyond the suburbs, the issues facing us are the same. We want a strong economy, a solid education for our children, to tackle the challenges of climate change, protect our public lands, and to have the ability to save for retirement and live our Colorado way of life. It will be hard work, but together I’m optimistic about our future.”

The existing 7th CD covers the populous areas of central and northern Jefferson County and western Adams County. The redrawn district, which goes into effect with next year’s election, encompasses all of Jefferson County and Broomfield along with six mountain counties – Park, Lake, Chaffee, Teller, Fremont and Custer – and tiny slivers of a few other counties.

Democrats hold a slim 2.4-point edge over Republicans among registered voters in the new district, which is dominated by unaffiliated voters. Democratic candidates, however, outperformed Republicans by an average 6.9 points in recent benchmark statewide elections, according to the independent commission that drew congressional district boundaries.

While the suburban district was considered a battleground when Perlmutter was first elected in 2006, the attorney and former state legislator has won re-election every time since by double digits, including a 25-point win over GOP nominee Mark Barrington in 2018, the last time the NRCC included Perlmutter on its target list. Last year, Perlmutter won an eighth term over Republican Casper Stockham by nearly 22 points.

The only Republican so far running against Perlmutter is Laurel Imer, a former legislative candidate.

She told Colorado Politics that the NRCC’s targeting confirms what she already knew, that the district is competitive.

“It also shows that the NRCC is confident in our ability to win this race and to take back CD7,” Imer said. “The victory in Virginia last night proves that Americans are done with the retail campaign politics of people like Ed Perlmutter and that they are ready for change.”

According to the most recent campaign finance reports, Perlmutter had $993,416 in the bank at the end of September, while Imer reported just $8,879 on hand.

A spokeswoman for the NRCC made a point similar to Imer’s but sounded like the GOP’s primary field could expand.

“The NRCC has been meeting with a number of talented individuals in CO-07, and after last night’s results, we are more confident than ever that voters are ready to defeat Democrats’ socialist agenda come November 2022,” Courtney Parella, a regional press secretary for the NRCC, said in an email.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the NRCC’s counterpart, didn’t include any Colorado Republicans on the preliminary list of House targets the group released in April, though Democratic candidates and several outside groups have been raising money hand over fist in hopes of challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, the Silt restaurant owner serving her first term in the Western Slope-based 3rd Congressional District.