The Akron area’s Betty Sutton has been in Congress since 2008. Now she’s running against Jim Renacci, a freshman Republican who won Ohio’s 16^th Congressional District in 2010.

The two incumbents ended up in the same district after the GOP-dominated Legislature redrew Ohio’s congressional map to eliminate two seats.

The new lines put Sutton in Renacci’s district  and shift the boundaries to more Republican rural and suburban areas west and north of Akron and Canton.

Despite that, The Hill newspaper says the Democratic Congressional Capaign committee has added Sutton and House members from California, Iowa and Georgia to its “Frontline” program.

In a statement, committee Chairman Steve Israel says those seats are key for Democrats to win a majority in the House.  The committee has already identified a dozen other Democrats it plans to support with fundraising and other campaign help. They include Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who is still recovering from gunshot wounds and has not yet said if she’ll run.