House Democrats' campaign arm draws progressive fury for trying to 'tip the scales' in key House primary
Progressives are blasting party leaders after House Democrats’ campaign arm backed a centrist over a far-left challenger in a key battleground race that could shape control of the House. The...
By Fox News · Fox News
Progressives are blasting party leaders after House Democrats’ campaign arm backed a centrist over a far-left challenger in a key battleground race that could shape control of the House. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) added California state Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains and seven other Democrats to its "Red to Blue" program this week — a de facto endorsement that could give the candidates aiming to defeat GOP incumbents a leg up in critical primaries across the country. The DCCC’s decision to support Bains over progressive challenger Randy Villegas, a university professor backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in the hotly contested race has sparked backlash from progressive lawmakers, who argue the campaign arm should stay neutral in contested primaries. "We disagree with the DCCC’s decision to attempt to tip the scales in this race," Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC leaders, who have endorsed Villegas, said in a joint statement. "Voters, not the DCCC, should pick Democratic nominees." DEMOCRATS NAME CANDIDATES TO 'RED TO BLUE' INITIATIVE, AIMING TO FLIP GOP MAJORITY DURING MIDTERMS The group of progressives included Reps. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., Greg Casar, D-Texas, Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., Chuy Garcia, D-Ill., and Jamie Raskin, D-Md. "Deeply disappointed to see this last-minute intervention in a competitive Democratic primary," Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., wrote on social media Monday. "It’s especially tone-deaf in a district that is overwhelmingly Latino, coming on the heels of last week’s decision gutting the VRA [Voting Rights Act]." Villegas also slammed the DCCC intervention as "undemocratic" in a post on X. The political newcomer is supported by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ campaign arm and the left-wing Working Families Party, among other outside groups. Meanwhile, several major labor groups, including the moderate Blue Dogs PAC and the center-left NewDem Action Fund, are ba…