Senate Democrats are facing a particularly tough map in the 2024 election and are largely on defense to protect several vulnerable Democratic incumbents in red or purple states.

Yet, Senate Democrats also recently announced that they are going on offense against two Republican incumbents in red states that they believe are also vulnerable to being ousted -- Sens. Rick Scott in Florida and Ted Cruz in Texas, according to The Hill.

If Democrats were able to flip one or both of those seats, it would serve both to get rid of certain GOP senators who are particularly despised by the left as well as to counter against potential flips of Democratic-held seats being defended in other swing states.

Senate Democrats go on offense in Florida and Texas

In a Wednesday press release, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee announced that it has expanded its "Republican accountability programs" into the GOP-held states of Florida and Texas intending to pick off the seats held by Sens. Rick Scott and Ted Cruz.

This "offensive" expansion includes "seven-figure" funding for research and staffers who will coordinate with state Democratic parties and work together to "define Republican candidates" and use a "variety of tactics" to show how the actions, statements, and voting records of those two GOP senators "disqualify" them from continuing to hold office.

The release noted that similar anti-Republican efforts to what is being launched offensively in Florida and Texas are also being deployed defensively in eight other states -- Arizona, Montana, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin -- all of which feature Democratic-held seats deemed to be particularly vulnerable to being flipped in the next election cycle.

Largest investment this early in an election cycle

DSCC Executive Director Christie Roberts said in a statement, "Senators Cruz and Scott’s deep unpopularity is driven by their unique vulnerabilities, their self-serving politics and their toxic policy agendas -- all of which make Texas and Florida prime offensive opportunities for Senate Democrats."

"Across the battlegrounds, the DSCC is making early investments to ensure voters know the truth about Republicans’ flawed candidates, and how their dangerous views and policies disqualify them from serving in the Senate," she added.

NBC News, which was the first to report on the DSCC's offensive expansion into Florida and Texas, noted that this was the largest such investment from the organization to bolster state parties at such an early point in an election cycle.

Senate Democrats largely playing defense in 2024 cycle

Interestingly enough, the 10 states listed in the DSCC's Wednesday press release as recipients of "seven-figure" funding for its "Republican accountability programs" are the exact same 10 states highlighted by CNN over the weekend as being the most likely to flip in the 2024 election.

At the top of that list are the solidly red states of West Virginia, Montana, and Ohio, held respectively by Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin, Jon Tester, and Sherrod Brown, all of whom have prevailed in prior tight election cycles but are now facing their toughest challenges ever against re-election.

In Pennsylvania, Democrats are worried about unified GOP efforts to oust incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, while in Arizona they are perhaps begrudgingly defending independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema -- though she is also facing a potentially tough fight on her left flank from a Democratic challenger who could arguably garner the party's support over the incumbent.

The DSCC is also keeping a watchful eye on the states of Nevada and Wisconsin, held respectively by incumbent Democratic Sens. Jacky Rosen and Tammy Baldwin, and preparing for an all-out brawl in Michigan to protect the seat held by retiring Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

The only two Republican-held seats on the list of most likely potential flips are Florida and Texas, both of which are viewed as longshots for Democrats but nonetheless represent the party's best opportunities for pulling off an upset or, at the very least, mitigating losses in the other vulnerable states on the list.