Republicans are targeting 7 more Democratic seats in the House, some of them in deep blue districts carried overwhelmingly by President Obama in 2012.

Outside groups are contributing millions in an effort to make the Republican victory in November as wide and deep as possible.

Politico:

“After wasting millions and abandoning prized candidates, House Democrats are now retreating at a breakneck pace. This latest investment speaks volumes about the quality of our candidates and the expanding opportunities for House Republicans in deep Democrat territory,” said Dan Conston, a spokesman for American Action Network and Congressional Leadership Fund.

The maneuvering could alter the conventional wisdom surrounding this year’s House races: that Republicans are on their way to a respectable single-digit gain in the House but are likely to fall short of a double-digit pickup that would give them their biggest majority since Harry Truman’s presidency. Confining the GOP is a small congressional map that left few incumbents from either party in serious jeopardy; only about 30 seats, give or take, have been seen as truly in play.

Republicans believe if they can maximize their House margin in 2014, it will give them a buffer going into a 2016 election expected to be much more favorable to Democrats.

(POLITICO's 2014 race ratings)

A variety of factors are shaping their optimism about the new targets. In Hawaii, Republicans see hope in the candidacy of Charles Djou, a popular former GOP congressman. In Iowa, they believe Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley’s sputtering Senate bid is hurting his party’s hopes of reclaiming his congressional seat. In New York, they believe Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney has been damaged by revelations he used a drone to capture aerial footage of his wedding.

American Action Network will spend a total of $1.4 on TV ads in those races. In addition, Congressional Leadership Fund, which has close ties to House Speaker John Boehner, will invest $500,000 to defeat a Massachusetts Democrat, Seth Moulton, in a district Obama won by 11 percentage points. On Thursday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced that it was pulling funding from Moulton, reasoning that he’s on track for a win. But Republicans disagree, saying polling shows he can be toppled.

The GOP outfits will also spend $1.2 million against three Democratic incumbents long seen as top targets: Florida Rep. Joe Garcia, Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson and Illinois Rep. Bill Enyart.

As recently as the end of summer, Democrats were confident they could knock off a couple of Republicans while losing a handful of seats.Prognosticators believed that GOP gains would be 5-12 seats, with a gain of 7-8 seen as most likely.

As the fall campaign has gone on, however, Republicans have become more confident. They are probably already at the upper reaches of the original estimate and think they it is now possible to win up to 15 seats.

These last two weeks will be critical as voters begin to make up their minds about who they will support. The infusion of cash promises to make those additional races competitive and force the Democrats to play defense across a borad section of the country.