U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene has been picked to lead Democratic efforts to win back the House of Representatives in 2024.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, of New York, who will be the Democratic minority leader in the House next year, has chosen DelBene, the six-term representative from Medina, to lead the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee through the 2024 elections.
“Suzan is a battle-tested, former Frontline member who brings to the DCCC role a sharp political instinct, proven fundraising ability as well as serious management and operational experience inside and outside government,” Jeffries said in a prepared statement. “She is the right leader, with the right experience and the right demeanor to meet this pivotal moment.”
The chair of the DCCC leads candidate recruitment, fundraising and organizing for the primary campaign arm of House Democrats. The chair also determines which races get national money, putting them in the sometimes uncomfortable position of deciding which of their colleagues to help and which to abandon.
The chair is the fourth-ranking House Democrat, after the minority leader, whip and caucus chair.
At least two other House Democrats had publicly announced candidacies to lead the DCCC, Reps. Ami Bera and Tony Cárdenas, both of California.
But Jeffries chose DelBene, one of several House Democrats who led a push last month to make the position appointed, rather than elected. DelBene ran for DCCC chair in 2018, but came in third.
The House Democratic caucus must still vote to approve DelBene’s selection, but she’s expected to be confirmed.
DelBene, 60, a former Microsoft executive, first ran for Congress in 2010, spending more than $2.2 million of her own money, but losing to incumbent Republican Dave Reichert in Washington’s 8th Congressional District, covering eastern King and Pierce counties.
In 2012, after redistricting, she ran again in the 1st Congressional District, covering northern King County and parts of three other counties north to the Canadian border. She spent nearly $2.8 million of her own money on her campaign.
That November, she won two elections simultaneously, against the same opponent: A special election to fill the remainder of Rep. Jay Inslee’s term, after Inslee stepped down to focus on his campaign for governor, and a regular election for a new two-year term.
DelBene won that race by about 8 percentage points, after both national parties had targeted the open seat.
She has since been reelected five times, never by less than 10 or so points, with her margins mostly growing larger as the years have gone by. The most recent round of redistricting shrunk her district geographically to just portions of western King and Snohomish counties and likely made it safe for Democrats even in the reddest of election years.
Jeffries said DelBene won what was at first a difficult race, then “held a tough seat as a Frontline candidate and then put that tough seat out of reach.”
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-New York, chaired the DCCC through the 2022 elections as Democrats lost fewer House races than many anticipated, but he lost his own bid for reelection.
Republicans will hold the majority in 2023 by just five seats.
DelBene called it an honor to be chosen.
“I’m ready to get to work with our new leadership team and all corners of our Caucus to win back the House Majority,” DelBene said in a prepared statement. “Democrats are dedicated to showing Americans that governance can work, advancing the policies that will make a difference to families, workers and communities, and pushing back against MAGA Republican extremism and chaos.”
