The top Democrat in charge of getting other Democrats elected to the House is urging his party's candidates to steer clear of the national convention later this year.

The piece of advice from Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, came during the Reuters Washington Summit Tuesday.
"If they want to win an election, they need to be in their districts," Israel said of Democratic congressional candidates, according to Reuters.

The comment follows decisions by several vulnerable Democrats to skip this year's national convention -- to be held in early September in Charlotte, N.C.

"A trip to Charlotte may be interesting, but why leave your districts?" Israel reportedly said. He claimed President Obama's approval ratings had little to do with the guidance -- Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., former head of the DCCC, offered similar advice to candidates in 2008.
But Democrats have been ruling out attendance this year at a rather steady clip.