House Dem campaign arm faces revolt from candidates
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Rep. Suzan DelBene speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 21, 2024. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is coming under fire from an unlikely adversary: Outsider Democratic congressional candidates.
Why it matters: It's a rare moment of internal party infighting spilling out into public view, with candidates raging that the House Democratic campaign arm picked favorites by endorsing a dozen candidates earlier this week.
- "We are six months out from a primary ... it is absolutely infuriating," said Jason Knapp, a candidate in Virginia's 1st Congressional district whose opponent, Shannon Taylor, was added to the DCCC's "Red to Blue" list earlier this week.
- "This is exactly what we as Democrats have been complaining about for years," Knapp said, "and we're just doing it again."
Driving the news: The DCCC on Monday announced a dozen endorsements as part of its "Red to Blue" program, which provides funds and organizational support to select campaigns.
- While all of the endorsed candidates are the fundraising leaders in their respective primaries, most still have at least one opponent.
- Taylor has six opponents, including Knapp, a former Naval officer and senior NATO official who said he has raised over $400,000.
- Jamie Ager of North Carolina has three rivals, while former Rep. Elaine Luria has five. At least one other adversary in each of their races raised at least $100,000 as of the end of 2025.
What they're saying: A group of 17 Democratic primary candidates running against the "Red to Blue" endorsees put out a joint statement on Tuesday slamming the DCCC.
- "Primaries are not an inconvenience, they are the foundation of democratic legitimacy," the candidates said.
- "You cannot argue that democracy is on the ballot in November while narrowing democracy in the primaries from now through August. ... If a candidate is strong, they should be able to earn support in open competition."
The other side: "We go through a long process, making sure that we're looking at folks who are running really strong campaigns," DCCC chair Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) said Thursday when asked about the criticism.
- "These are all strong candidates, they're the ones who are going to be the general election candidate and they're the ones that we think can win the general election."
- DelBene did not answer whether there was any stipulation that their funds only be used in the general election against Republicans.
The intrigue: At a moment when Democratic candidates are scrambling to brand themselves as "fighters" and "outsiders," some candidates are actually leaning into the party establishment's snub.
- Emily Berge, the main rival to DCCC-backed Rebecca Cooke in Wisconsin's 3rd district, put out a fundraising email on Thursday with the subject line, "DC is crowning their candidate".
- "DC insiders are trying to undermine our primary process, and trying to tell folks here in WI-03 that they know better than we do about what we want in our representative," the email says.
What to watch: The fallout could threaten to blow back more broadly on Democratic leadership, with Knapp telling Axios, "it's certainly not a way to foster affections."
- "It's not a secret that we as the Democratic Party ... are [concerned] that they're doing it because they are more concerned about their positions in power than the party being reader to fight."
- Knapp, like dozens of other Democratic primary candidates, declined to commit to supporting House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) as leader, telling Axios he would "need to wait and see what has happened with our elections."
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
