Infighting erupts as Democrats intervene in contested primaries

• "Voters, not the DCCC, should pick Democratic nominees," leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC said in a statement first reported by Axios.
• Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.), chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus' BOLD PAC, fumed about several Latino candidates being passed over for endorsements, saying: "Latino voters and candidates ... are not a small factor in the fight for the House majority; they are central to it."

Driving the news: The DCCC announced eight new endorsements as part of its "Red to Blue" program, which provides resources and fundraising support to Democratic candidates running to unseat Republican incumbents.

• "Candidates earn a spot in the program by surpassing aggressive goals for grassroots engagement, local support, campaign organization, and fundraising," the DCCC said in its press release announcing the picks.
• Five of the eight face opposition in their Democratic primaries.

The endorsees include Jasmeet Bains, a California State Assembly member who has been out-raised by progressive Randy Villegas in California's 22nd district. The race has become a proxy war for Democrats' ideological camps.

• Bob Brooks, a firefighter in Pennsylvania's 7th district who is facing three well-funded primary opponents with varying degrees of establishment support, was another pick.
• Former broadcast journalist Marlene Galán-Woods got endorsed in Arizona's 1st district over former state representative Amish Shah, who defeated Galán-Woods in the primary for the seat in 2024.

What we're hearing: Several House Democrats, granted anonymity to offer critical comments about their party's campaign arm, expressed bafflement at individual endorsements.

• One House Democrat said they "have pretty strong feelings" against the DCCC's endorsement of Brooks and have "spoken with a number of colleagues who are also really upset."
• "I think the DCCC owes House Democrats an explanation, and I would not be surprised if a number of members decide to put their DCCC giving on hold," the lawmaker said. "Some of these decisions ... are very perplexing,"
• Another House Democrat said the endorsement of Bains is "pretty surprising" because Villegas "has more House endorsements and he's ... pretty well liked," telling Axios they are "certainly frustrated."
• A third expressed confusion about the endorsement of Galán-Woods: "Shah won the primary last time, seems like he is the favorite this time ... I wonder if they did polling or something, seems like both are viable."

Between the lines: This goes beyond the usual griping from candidates about being passed over. Outside groups also got in on the action.

• "The Democratic establishment is wasting resources in primaries to prop up weak candidates. Spending critical dollars on Bains ... is a huge miss from the DCCC," said Leaders We Deserve co-founder David Hogg.
• Ravi Mangla, a spokesperson for the Working Families Party, said "the Democratic establishment is again putting its thumb on the scale—not to support the stronger candidate, but the candidate who will bend to party leadership."

The other side: A source familiar with the DCCC's thinking disputed the notion that the members would have been caught off guard by the endorsements, telling Axios the committee notified many lawmakers in advance and explained their reasoning.

• The source also stressed that the DCCC has gotten involved in competitive primaries in the past and that it has never adhered to a strict rule of neutrality.
• "It's imperative that Democrats must take back the House," said DCCC spokesperson Viet Shelton. "That's why we are proud to announce our latest round of Red to Blue candidates who span the ideological spectrum ... and are best positioned to win in November."

Flashback: DCCC chair Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), asked by Axios last fall about endorsing in contested primaries, said: "We have, in a small number of cases, gotten involved."

• But, she said at the time, in "most of these cases, the voters are going to have the decision on who the primary candidate is going to be."

The intrigue: Democratic leadership may be able to avoid significant blowback even if candidates they snubbed end up upsetting DCCC endorsees.

• Lamont McClure, a candidate in Pennsylvania's 7th district, told Axios in a phone interview that being passed over won't impact his relationship with party leaders if he wins.
• "When I am our nominee and [GOP Rep. Ryan Mackenzie] is toast, I think the DCCC and all its members will be really happy about that," he said.