Election forecasters move more than a dozen House races in GOP direction

House Democrats’ fortunes took a turn for the worse Wednesday when two prominent election forecasters shifted 16 congressional races toward Republicans’ favor.

Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics shifted 11 races toward the GOP. Most of the changes in narrowly competitive GOP-held districts became “safe Republican,” or Democratic districts went from “likely Democratic” to a more competitive rating of “leaning Democratic.”

Most of the Democratic lawmakers listed by the Cook Political Report and the Crystal Ball are part of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s...