Just some thoughts on the House landscape...
First off, and I'm asking this with an open mind: is it perhaps time for Pelosi and Hoyer to step aside? I'm not blaming either of them for the losses so much as I'm wondering if there are alternatives who would be better "assets" for the Democratic Party over the next two years. They seem to be pretty good at the cat-herding aspect of House leadership, but neither of them strike me as especially interesting as communicators to the American public. Democrats can't rely solely on Obama, Biden, and our 2016 presidential candidates to do all the talking for the next two years, and the media are probably going to pay more attention to someone in House leadership than just some random Democrat who happens to be good in front of a microphone. And not to be ageist, but both are in their 70s and even something along the lines of a 300 EV+ Democratic win in 2016 may not be enough to get the Democrats back to the majority in the House. At some point, the two of them are going to retire, and I'm wondering if it would be better to have the leadership change now so that the new guard can get their feet wet. (I'll confess that my soft spot for Westminster-style parliamentary politics may also be influencing my thinking here - personally, I think it would be great if the House Minority Leader had the stature of the "Leader of the Opposition," but I realize that's not likely to happen.)
Second, while retaking the majority in 2016 will be a very steep climb, there are some seats that stand out as possible targets. I've listed a few of them below along with some thoughts on the candidates.
NY-01: I was a little surprised to see Tim Bishop lose by 10 points here. It's been a swing district at the presidential level both pre- and post-redistricting, but Obama narrowly won in 2012, and Bishop survived 2010 under the old boundaries. Not sure if he'll want to try to get the seat back, but Dems should put up a fight here.
NY-24: This seat's PVI is D+5 according to Wikipedia, and yet Dan Maffei lost by 20 points. Maffei has been in and out of the House twice now, including losing in 2010 when it seemed like he wasn't expected to lose. I don't know much about the guy - is there something in particular that makes him a weak candidate, or has he just been in the wrong place at the wrong time twice? The seat ought to be winnable in 2016, but I'm not sure Maffei should be the candidate again.
IA-1 and IA-3: I'm guessing IA-1, at least, would have turned out better if Dems hadn't been flailing in a big statewide race in Iowa (though I'm not sure I'd want Braley to try to get it back - it's his old seat). IA-3 has shown Democratic underperformance in two straight cycles, given that its PVI is even - Latham/Boswell in 2012 and Young/Appel now. Anybody know what the story is here?
NH-01: This is turning out to be the swing district of all swing districts! Like Maffei, Carol Shea-Porter has now been in and out of the House twice, though this is an R+1 district and it looks like she's about 7,000 votes behind with 98% reporting. She might well be able to win it back in 2016, but it might at least be worth considering whether a different candidate might be able to "entrench" himself/herself more effectively in the event of a win.
ME-02: I was stunned to see LePage win with 48% in Maine, so I'm not sure what to make of Maine politics right now. (Is it possible that the Ebola thing with Kaci Hickox helped him?) OTOH, Michaud is out of a job if he wants his old seat back, it has a slight Democratic lean, and Maine hadn't previously sent a Republican to the House since 1994 (ME-01, actually, and it flipped right back).
IL-10: This is a D+8 district, but Schneider only won by a point in 2012, and given that Dold has a moderate reputation, the Dems need to give him a good run in 2016 to prevent him from becoming entrenched there.
IL-12: Err...maybe Bost will go nuts on the floor in the U.S. House too?