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Rep. Mia Love is among the top 2016 targets of national Democrats as they make a long-shot bid to reclaim control of the U.S. House. The move should give attorney Doug Owens more financial resources and strategic help as he tries to unseat Love, a freshman, in what is expected to be Utah's only close congressional contest.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "Red to Blue" program lists 21 top targets and Utah's 4th Congressional District seat is among them.

The district, which includes the west parts of Salt Lake and Utah counties and some of central Utah, skews hard right, with the Cook Political Report saying it is 16 percentage points more Republican than the national average.

But Utah has had a history of one seat being held by a conservative Democrat. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, represented the 4th District before declining to run again in 2014, which set up the first Love-Owens showdown, which she won by a little more than 5 percentage points. During his 12-year congressional career, Matheson often found himself on the DCCC's list of districts to protect.

Owens has spent considerable time fundraising in hopes of being able to launch a more aggressive TV ad campaign this time around. He even out raised Love during the most recent reporting period, and has nearly $500,000 in available cash. Love, a prolific fundraiser in part because of her historic status as the first black Republican woman elected to Congress, had $781,000 at the end of 2015.

Love sent out a fundraising email in late January noting Owens' early push. And in turn, Owens immediately sent out a fundraising email Tuesday morning, crowing about the DCCC recognition and warning that "billionaire donors and special-interest groups will spend millions to beat Doug."

That email included a comment from DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, saying: "It's clear that Utahns are responding to his positive message and that he will have the resources needed to build and execute a winning campaign."

Other districts the DCCC is targeting include Colorado's 6th Congressional District, which covers the suburbs south of Denver, and Nevada's 3rd District, which includes the metro area south of Las Vegas.

Also on Thursday, Sabato's Crystal Ball, a well-watched political handicapping group, changed its rating on Utah's 4th District contest from "likely Republican" to "lean Republican," in large part because of Owens' recent fundraising success.