House Democrats can expect mostly uncontested leadership elections with a few surprise competitive races this week as younger members seek to move the party forward and bring in fresh blood following their narrow loss to Republicans for control of the chamber.
While Democrats’ slate of top leaders, such as Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-CA), will remain the same, several other positions key to campaign messaging and connecting the class of new members-elect with the rest of the party will be crowded contests.
The results of the 2024 election highlighted a generational divide between the older establishment of the party and the newer generation of lawmakers well-versed in social media and unafraid to go toe-to-toe with their colleagues both across the aisle and within the Democratic Party.
With Democrats looking ahead to finding ways to revamp the party’s messaging following Vice President Kamala Harris’s surprisingly steep loss to President-elect Donald Trump, many lawmakers are looking for a change in leadership to appeal to a new generation of Democratic voters.
“We need people in those positions who are willing to be humble and sort of pump the brakes and say, ‘OK, now is listening time. Now is not prescription time — we haven’t even diagnosed the problem fully yet,” Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT), a member of the Progressive Caucus, told the Washington Examiner.
Two members are running for Democratic Policy and Communications Committee chair, while three are facing off for battleground leadership representative. Freshman members will vote between three candidates to be their representative to leadership, while the New Democrat Coalition will also vote between two strong contenders.
The elections come after Republicans received the 218 votes needed to secure the House majority, with only five races remaining too close to call by the Associated Press. Republicans are projected to have 221 or 222 seats, but vacancies due to GOP lawmakers heading to the Trump administration will narrow the majority even further.
DPCC sees generational leadership challenges
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), who is entering her second term in the House, is challenging Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) for the chairmanship of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee.
The DPCC is charged with navigating the party’s political messaging, with the chairman being the party’s chief messenger. For front-liners, meaning those in swing districts especially, the chair is important — running in tight races and needing to center on issues specific to their districts, while the DPCC’s broad, all-caucus messaging can often miss the mark with constituents.
“What we see is that a lot of different members felt like they had to craft their own message for their district, which, you know, we all have to do from time to time,” Balint said, reflecting on the 2024 elections and noting that things need to change because “getting our messages out is not going to be the way we’re getting our messages out 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago, or even five years ago.”
Dingell has the experience to back up her reelection, serving as DPCC co-chairwoman in 2018 and 2020. The 70-year-old Michigan Democrat took over the position last year, and eyes are on Crockett, the 43-year-old Texas Democrat who launched her campaign for the chairmanship on Nov. 15, to see whether she can muster up enough support to oust Dingell.
A House Democrat told the Washington Examiner that in her calls, Dingell has been asking, “What do you need from me, what do you want, what needs to happen, where did we fall short?” The member said that from having several conversations with colleagues, it is clear Dingell is “gonna win handily.”
Dingell confirmed to the Washington Examiner that she has been calling “every single member multiple times” to garner support for her reelection bid.
“They know how relentless I am,” Dingell said, but she added that she’s “not going to jinx it” when asked how she’s feeling about the race.
Though starting at the eleventh hour, Crockett, in her “Dear Colleague” letter, said that now is the time to “rebrand” the Democratic Party and that under her leadership, she would explore artificial intelligence and use social media, texts, podcasts, videos, and other methods to expand communication and push Democratic messaging forward. She told Punchbowl News she thinks that what the party needs is a fresh perspective.
“You’re talking about people that haven’t had a chance to really fully develop and show the caucus what all they can do,” Crockett said. “This was the best space I can occupy to potentially really put that extra jolt in communications, and this is the post I am running for.”
Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) is running to be DPCC co-chairman, replacing Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-FL), who is not seeking reelection to the position. If he is elected, he will be the first member of Congress from Generation Z to hold a congressional leadership position.
Among the proposals Frost outlined in his letter announcing his candidacy was a program for members to book digital creators, micro-influencers, musicians, and artists, as well as workshops for “creating your brand and style.”
Frost told the Washington Examiner that several members had encouraged him to run for the co-chair position, and post-election, “We see that our party really does need to reflect a lot and figure out how we are going to make sure we’re reaching out with a good message.”
“How do we reach out to people who don’t consume news as a hobby? And that’s another challenge for our party, as well, that we’ll fix through,” Frost said. “So, I don’t have all the answers, but, you know, my hope is to be a part of that.”
Three-way race for battleground leadership representative
Reps. Greg Landsman (D-OH), Susie Lee (D-NV), and Kim Schrier (D-WA) are running to be a voice for battleground House Democrats at the leadership table. The role is held by Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), who opted not to seek reelection so she could run for governor of Virginia in 2025.
The position was pitched by Lee in 2022, advocating that members in competitive swing districts need additional support from caucus leadership. Now, Lee is running to take over the job that she created.
Lee will face Landsman, who beat Republican Orlando Sonza in Ohio’s competitive 1st District, and Schrier, who is heading into her fourth term in the House. Lee is also heading into her fourth term.
Unlike the DPCC chairmanship, the election of battleground leadership representative will only involve those considered “Front-liners” and “Red to Blue” candidates by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. There are 31 Front-liners and 11 winners from the “Red to Blue” program who will vote on Tuesday.
In her “Dear Colleague” letter, Lee said she is a “strong voice in the room” and noted her numerous leadership roles in the New Democrat Coalition and bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. She also donated money to front-liner campaigns this cycle.
Landsman said in a statement that the party needs “strong, Midwest voices” in leadership, noting that he won his race in the strong red state of Ohio and exceeded expectations.
Schrier, who is also a member of the New Democrat Coalition, flipped her seat in 2018 that had traditionally been held by Republicans.
New Democrat Coalition race comes to a head on Wednesday
With most of the Democratic caucus’s leadership elections expected to wrap up on Tuesday, members of the New Democrat Coalition will vote Wednesday on the successor to Chairwoman Annie Kuster (D-NH). With Kuster’s retirement and success leading the coalition, this is one of the most closely watched Democratic leadership contests in the House.
The powerful center-left Democratic group, often credited with pushing major legislation across the finish line, is seeing a challenge between two members who already have a foot in the door.
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), current New Dems vice chairman for communications, will take on Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS), vice chairwoman for new member services, for the role.
Schneider told the Washington Examiner that the coalition held a lunch on Thursday at which both he and Davids presented their pitches for the leadership position.
“We have two friends — Sharice is a dear friend — running for the same position,” Schneider said. “Not running against each other, but running for something. And I feel confident that I made a case to my colleagues and, hopefully, I’ll be successful.”
Schneider said he talked about his vision for the coalition, which he projects will grow to between 108 and 110 members after all the 2024 races are called. The New Dems inducted 23 new members-elect into the coalition last week during new member orientation on Capitol Hill.
“We have grown our ranks. It was 42 members when I first got here in 2013,” Schneider said. “And so, my vision of making sure our voices are heard, making sure we’re utilizing the experience and wisdom and support of all 108 members and making sure that they’re successful, that when they go home and talk about being a part of the New Democrat Coalition, their constituents understand that that’s good for their district, right?”
“We’re helping them succeed, and that was the key message,” Schneider continued.
Davids previously told the Washington Examiner she thinks her experience as Kansas’s sole Democratic representative, as well as her ability to reach centrist and independent votes over the last few cycles, makes her a perfect fit for chairwoman.
“Coming from a red state and having been through tough elections every two years since getting elected, and serving during that time as the vice chair of member services … I have really had the chance to hear from and work with almost all of our members to just help figure out what they need to be successful in the Congress, and also what they need to be successful on the campaign side,” Davids said.
As in the battleground leadership representative race, only New Dems will vote in the coalition’s chairmanship race. Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-MD), who is part of New Dems, said he wants to see the next chair continue Kuster’s “outstanding” work.
Ivey acknowledged that after the 2024 elections, the new coalition chair needs to revamp the group’s messaging tactics.
“The other part, I think, we need to build out more is communications to regular folks, kind of, you know, meet them where they are,” Ivey told the Washington Examiner. “I think we’ve moved past ‘everything has to be on TV or the radio or the newspaper.’ We know we got to do some things electronically to reach people, but I think we have to expand our efforts on that so we can reach more people.”
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) told the Washington Examiner she wouldn’t publicly share who she voted for but the race “is top-tier with those two,” referring to Davids and Schneider.
“Certainly, front-liner-mindset of winning tough races, dedication to bolstering the caucus, and it’s been a really collegial race, and it’s absolutely bringing out the best in our coalition,” Stevens said.
Balint, who is not in the New Democrat Coalition but has “a lot of friends” in the group, said she thinks the entire party needs people “who have humility.”
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Democrats need those “who will listen more, hear things they might not want to hear, and elevate the voices of everyone in the group, whether it’s New Dems, whether it’s progressives,” she said.
“The most important phase is making sure that we take the time to admit that it was a loss,” Balint added. “Don’t spin it. … It was a loss. We should have — given how horribly Republicans have led in the last two years … we should have been able to flip the House. So, let’s get some veterans, some young people, new way of thinking.”
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
