Bustos announces bid to become fourth-ranking Dem next year

Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) on Monday launched a bid to become the assistant Democratic leader if the party takes control of the House next year, citing her Midwestern roots and the importance of regional diversity in the age of President Trump.

The announcement pits the three-term Bustos against Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) for the fourth-ranking leadership spot if the House flips after November’s midterms. Cicilline launched his campaign for the assistant leader spot last Thursday, and more candidates may emerge as the weeks tick by.

{mosads}Both Bustos and Cicilline are currently co-chairs of the party’s messaging arm, the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), which is also headed by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y).

While Cicilline is touting the diversity he’d bring as one of just a handful of openly gay lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Bustos is arguing the need to empower more heartland voices in the top leadership ranks. Bustos represents a rural Illinois district carried by Trump in 2016, but still managed an easy reelection for her House seat, winning 60 percent of the vote.

“As Democrats, our strength has always come from our diversity,” Bustos wrote Monday in a letter to her colleagues. “My vision for this role will be to engage the entire Caucus to support one another, but particularly our new and most vulnerable members.

“We will achieve this by sharing best practices and tactics across districts, whether they be urban, suburban or rural — red, blue or purple.”

The promise to empower newer members is a common theme echoing from the handful of Democrats who have announced their candidacy for leadership seats in the next Congress. Rank-and-file members have grumbled for years about the dearth of opportunity to rise in the party, given that the top three spots have been filled by the same three figures — Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) — since 2006.

No Democrats have yet to challenge that power trio, all of whom say they intend to remain in the highest ranks if the party retakes the chamber. Although Clyburn is the current assistant leader — the third-ranking leadership post while the Democrats are in the minority — he would likely vie for a higher seat if the House flips and the Speakership creates an additional leadership seat at the very top of the party.

Notably, both Bustos and Cicilline have said they will run for the assistant leader post only if the chamber changes hands, in which case the spot would likely be vacant as Clyburn seeks to rise.

In her letter to Democrats, Bustos touted her campaigning for new candidates, particularly those in the heartland states, and vowed to make keeping the House in 2020 a central focus if she wins the assistant leader spot.

“By fighting for the core Democratic values that unite us while holding President Trump accountable next year, we will achieve a strong, diverse and lasting Democratic majority,” she wrote.

The Democrats’ leadership elections are scheduled for no later than Nov. 28.

Read Cheri Bustos Letter by kballuck1 on Scribd