In Ohio, Democrats are targeting 21 districts in an effort to win control of the state house. Republicans currently hold a seven seat majority (53/46) in the chamber.

Obviously, we're not trying to pick up 21 seats -- we first have to protect a number of incumbents in Republican-leaning districts before we can cut into GOP margins.

So what's the game plan?

According to Scarlett Bouder, communications director for the House Democratic campaign, it's a lot of things:

"There's no silver bullet. It's a combination of many factors, including polling, the governor's past performance, as well as the [Democratic performance index]."

Democratic fundraising is thus far outstripping expectations, which has led an important breakthrough -- Democrats have made an effort to ensure that every candidate in each of the targeted districts has a campaign staffer to help manage the race.

And that is terrific news -- dedicated, professional staff help candidates run more effective campaigns.