DCCC unveils initial dozen candidates for ‘Red to Blue’ program

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) unveiled on Tuesday a list of a dozen candidates who it believes are best positioned to either hold or flip competitive districts in 2020.

The list includes several Democratic candidates in 2018 who came up short in the general election, such as Gina Ortiz Jones, who narrowly lost to Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) last cycle; Hiral Tiperneni, who lost to Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.); Dan Feehan, who was defeated by Rep. Jim Hagedorn (R-Minn.); Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, who lost to Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.); and Carolyn Long, who was defeated by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.).

New additions to the list include Rita Hart in Iowa’s 2nd District, Christina Hale in Indiana’s 5th District, Jackie Gordon in New York’s 2nd District, Eugene DePasquale in Pennsylvania’s 10th District, Jill Schupp in Missouri’s 2nd District and Wendy Davis in Texas’s 21st District.

The committee is also backing Christy Smith, who’s running to replace former Rep. Katie Hill (D) in California’s 25th District in a special election. 

The list of candidates, part of the DCCC’s “Red to Blue” program, comes as Democrats find themselves playing defense in 2020. The party flipped 43 House seats in 2018 in a wave election that saw Democrats recapture a majority in the chamber. 

“The strength of our candidates matters, and these 12 local leaders have shown they have what it takes to win the trust of their voters and earn their votes,” Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), the chairwoman of the DCCC, said in a statement. “For that reason, I am proud to add them to our battle-tested Red to Blue program.”

Reps. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), A. Donald McEachin (D-Va.) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) will serve as co-chairpeople of the “Red to Blue” program, Bustos said.

–Updated at 10:31 a.m.