Pelosi and her deputies are also looking to protect vulnerable lawmakers.

By Sarah Feris and Andrew Desiderio @ Politico.com, Sept. 29

[....] Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her top deputies laid out the strategy during a private conference call Sunday afternoon [....]

Illinois Rep. Cheri Bustos, who leads House Democrats’ campaign arm, advised the caucus’ most vulnerable members to gauge support and test their message through polling in their respective districts — surveys that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee would help fund, according to multiple people on the call. She also said the campaign arm could deploy digital ads in the future.

Bustos also shared the results of the DCCC’s first poll focused on impeachment since Pelosi formalized an inquiry last week. The poll found that 54 percent of likely voters support Democrats’ inquiry, according to a summary obtained by POLITICO.

Top Democrats used Sunday’s conference call to formalize their caucus’ messaging operation on impeachment with more focused talking points. It came after leaders faced blowback from some lawmakers, particularly those from swing districts, over past messaging stumbles [....]