HARRISBURG — Democrats hoping to claw their way out of a deep minority in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives got some good news this week when their candidates filed petitions to get on the ballot in 180 of the chamber’s 203 districts.

The flood-the-zone strategy, inspired in part by a surprising showing for their party in Virginia in November, is designed to put more of the chamber in play and ramp up pressure on Republicans to defend their 121-82 majority.

Some of those candidates can expect legal challenges to their petitions or their qualifications, but their sheer numbers suggest that Democrats are benefiting from energy and enthusiasm that could change the Legislature’s balance of power.

“Obviously, 2016 was not exactly what we were hoping for and we had a very intentional strategy to challenge Republicans in every district,” said Nathan Davidson, director of the House Democratic Campaign Committee. “We didn’t quite get there, but it was very intentional to be actively recruiting in every place.”

The 180 districts would be the most for Democrats since at least 2000. That beat 2006, when Democrats ran in 175 districts. That year, Democrats rode a national wave to control of Congress, while at home, a populist furor over lawmakers’ self-granted pay raise fueled the defeat of 24 incumbents and briefly put Democrats in the majority.

Allegheny County Rep. Mark Mustio, who leads House Republican campaign efforts, said numbers alone don’t mean much.

“There are some of their candidates that have significant problems — we know that,” Mustio said. “Some of them, we hope, will stay on the ballot because they’re unelectable.”

The House Republicans’ electoral challenges this year are compounded by their 20 retirements and other vacancies, compared to seven for Democrats. Any seat without an incumbent becomes more attractive to the other side.