The chair of House Democrats' campaign arm on Wednesday didn't rule out putting her finger on the scale in key battleground district primaries next year.
Why it matters: Such primary meddling has been the source of public tension in past election cycles, but Democratic leaders maintain their right to try to elevate their preferred candidates.
- The dynamic could exacerbate an already simmering conflict between the Democratic establishment and the party's angry grassroots base, which is increasingly embracing outsider progressives in primaries.
- Democratic leaders tend to view more moderate candidates with backgrounds in electoral politics or national security as the gold standard in swing districts.
What they're saying: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), asked by Axios at a Wednesday press conference about possible primary involvement, said her "policy is the same policy we've had since I've been chair."
- "We have, in a small number of cases, gotten involved," DelBene said, noting that the DCCC endorsed now-Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-Ore.) over a more liberal primary opponent last cycle.
- But in "most of these cases," she added, "the voters are going to have the decision on who the primary candidate is going to be."
Zoom in: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), at the same press conference, made clear that the DCCC won't be dipping its toes into primaries in solidly Democratic districts.
- "The DCCC focuses on swing seats, defending our frontline incumbents ... and flipping red seats blue," he said.
- "The DCCC has never gotten involved in primary dynamics that involve safe Democratic seats, and that policy has not changed."
Yes, but: On Tuesday, Jeffries sidestepped a question about whether he will spend money from his own campaign coffers to help the more than half a dozen older House Democrats in safe districts who have been out-raised by younger primary rivals.
- "We're in the middle of a 35-day government shutdown," he told Axios. "There will be more than enough time to talk about the primary season next year."
