Disputes between candidates endorsed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and candidates outside the official organs of the Democratic Party occurred in U.S. House primaries in 2018.
The DCCC supported House candidates they believed would be competitive in general elections. The group said its "Red to Blue" program, which gave candidates organizational and fundraising support, backed candidates who "will take the fight to Paul Ryan’s House Republicans -- and fight to flip these seats from red to blue."[1]
Other candidates, activists, and influencers criticized the DCCC's choices and claimed that the group did not always support candidates who were sufficiently progressive. In January 2018, Ryan Grim and Lee Fang with The Intercept wrote "In district after district, the national party is throwing its weight behind candidates who are out of step with the national mood."[2]
An example of the conflict between Democratic officials and progressives occurred in Colorado's 6th District when Levi Tillemann, who was endorsed by the Progressive Democrats of America, released a tape-recorded conversation with House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer. Tilleman told Hoyer the DCCC should stay out of the race. Hoyer urged Tillemann to drop out, saying the Democratic Party's decision to back his opponent, Jason Crow, had been made a long time ago.[3]
An example outside the House primaries was U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) reaction to DNC Chairman Tom Perez's endorsement of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in his primary against Cynthia Nixon, who cast herself as a progressive alternative to Cuomo. Sanders said Perez's endorsement might alienate working people and younger voters from joining the party.[4]
This page identifies competitive Democratic primaries where the DCCC backed a candidate prior to the primary and tracks DCCC-backed and non-DCCC backed candidate performance. The chart below shows a summary of results in the primaries we tracked.
| U.S. House Democratic factions
|
| Faction
|
Primary victories in 2018
|
| Endorsed by DCCC |
31
|
| Not endorsed by DCCC |
2
|
Click here to read about the factional conflict in Republican primaries between House Republican leaders and the Freedom Caucus.
Factional conflicts in U.S. House Democratic primaries
The chart below shows top candidates in open primaries where the DCCC has backed a candidate. If the candidate was endorsed by the DCCC they are marked as DCCC. If they were not endorsed, they are marked as non-DCCC. See an election we are missing? Email us at editor@ballotpedia.org.
| Factional conflicts in U.S. House Democratic primaries
|
| Primary
|
Candidate
|
Date
|
Faction
|
Election result
|
| Illinois' 12th Congressional District
|
March 20, 2018
|
| Brendan Kelly |
DCCC |
Won
|
| David Bequette |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| North Carolina's 9th Congressional District
|
May 8, 2018
|
| Dan McCready |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Christian Cano |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| North Carolina's 13th Congressional District
|
May 8, 2018
|
| Kathy Manning |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Adam Coker |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Ohio's 7th Congressional District election
|
May 8, 2018
|
| Ken Harbaugh |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Patrick Pikus |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District
|
May 15, 2018
|
| Brad Ashford |
DCCC |
Lost
|
| Kara Eastman |
Non-DCCC |
Won
|
| Texas' 7th Congressional District election
|
May 22, 2018
|
| Lizzie Pannill Fletcher |
DCCC[5] |
Won
|
| Laura Moser |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Texas' 23rd Congressional District election
|
May 22, 2018
|
| Gina Ortiz Jones |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Rick Treviño |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Texas' 32nd Congressional District election
|
May 22, 2018
|
| Colin Allred |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Lillian Salerno |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Arkansas' 2nd Congressional District
|
May 22, 2018
|
| Clarke Tucker |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Gwen Combs |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Jonathan Dunkley |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Paul Spencer |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| California's 39th Congressional District
|
June 5, 2018
|
| Gil Cisneros |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Sam Jammal |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Herbert Lee |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Suzi Park Leggett |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Andy Thorburn |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Mai Khanh Tran |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| California's 48th Congressional District
|
June 5, 2018
|
| Harley Rouda |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Hans Keirstead |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Iowa's 1st Congressional District election
|
June 5, 2018
|
| Abby Finkenauer |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Thomas Heckroth |
Non-DCCC |
Won
|
| New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District
|
June 5, 2018
|
| Jeff Van Drew |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Tanzie Youngblood |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Will Cunningham |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Nathan Kleinman |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| New Jersey's 7th Congressional District
|
June 5, 2018
|
| Tom Malinowski |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Peter Jacob |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Goutam Jois |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| New Jersey's 11th Congressional District
|
June 5, 2018
|
| Mikie Sherrill |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Mitchell Cobert |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Tamara Harris |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Alison Heslin |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Mark Washburne |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District
|
June 5, 2018
|
| Xochitl Torres Small |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Madeleine Hildebrandt |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Nevada's 3rd Congressional District
|
June 12, 2018
|
| Susie Lee |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Jack Love |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Nevada's 4th Congressional District
|
June 12, 2018
|
| Steven Horsford |
DCCC |
Won
|
| John Anzalone |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Amy Vilela |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Virginia's 2nd Congressional District
|
June 12, 2018
|
| Elaine Luria |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Karen Mallard |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Colorado's 6th Congressional District
|
June 26, 2018
|
| Jason Crow |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Levi Tillemann |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| New York's 11th Congressional District
|
June 26, 2018
|
| Max Rose |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Omar Vaid |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Zach Emig |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| New York's 24th Congressional District
|
June 26, 2018
|
| Juanita Perez Williams |
DCCC |
Lost
|
| Dana Balter |
Non-DCCC |
Won
|
| Michigan's 7th Congressional District
|
August 7, 2018
|
| Gretchen Driskell |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Steven Friday |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Michigan's 8th Congressional District
|
August 7, 2018
|
| Elissa Slotkin |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Chris Smith |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Minnesota's 1st Congressional District
|
August 14, 2018
|
| Dan Feehan |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Colin Minehart |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District
|
August 14, 2018
|
| Dean Phillips |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Cole Young |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District
|
August 14, 2018
|
| Randy Bryce |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Cathy Myers |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Arizona's 2nd Congressional District
|
August 28, 2018
|
| Ann Kirkpatrick |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Matt Heinz |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Mary Matiella |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Florida's 6th Congressional District
|
August 28, 2018
|
| Nancy Soderberg |
DCCC |
Won
|
| John Upchurch |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Stephen Sevigny |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Florida's 9th Congressional District[6][7]
|
August 28, 2018
|
| Darren Soto (incumbent) |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Alan Grayson |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Florida's 16th Congressional District
|
August 28, 2018
|
| David Shapiro |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Jan Schneider |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Florida's 18th Congressional District
|
August 28, 2018
|
| Lauren Baer |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Pam Keith |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
| Florida's 26th Congressional District
|
August 28, 2018
|
| Debbie Mucarsel-Powell |
DCCC |
Won
|
| Demetries Grimes |
Non-DCCC |
Lost
|
See also
- ↑ DCCC, "Red to Blue Candidates," accessed May 15, 2018
- ↑ The Intercept, "THE DEAD ENDERS: Candidates Who Signed Up to Battle Donald Trump Must Get Past the Democratic Party First," January 23, 2018
- ↑ The Intercept, "Secretly Taped Audio Reveals Democratic Leadership Pressuring Progressive to Leave Race," April 26, 2018
- ↑ YouTube, "Bernie Sanders: "Absolutely" A Mistake For Perez To Endorse Cuomo, Bad Sign For 2020," June 6, 2018
- ↑ Fletcher was not formally endorsed by the DCCC, but the group ran negative advertisements against her opponent, Laura Moser.
- ↑ This primary featured a challenge against a Democratic incumbent.
- ↑ Politico, "Grayson says he'll challenge Soto in Florida's 9th," May 1, 2018
| Factional conflict in 2018 primaries |
|---|
| | |
|
