Incoming House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has announced Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) as his pick to chair the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), House Democrats' campaign arm.
The chair will oversee efforts to secure a Democratic majority in the chamber in 2024, when much attention will also be on the White House race. While House Democrats will still vote on approving DelBene, she is expected to be confirmed.
Here are five things to know about her:
1. She wasn't one of the declared candidates for the role
Two California Democrats — Reps. Ami Bera and Tony Cárdenas — had publicly signaled an interest in the role for the 118th Congress.
Cárdenas previously oversaw Bold PAC, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus' campaign arm, while Bera chaired the DCCC's Frontline program, which aims to help vulnerable Democratic incumbents win reelection.
Jeffries highlighted DelBene's previous roles as DCCC finance co-chair and Frontline co-chair. He also said she has "proven fundraising ability as well as serious management and operational experience inside and outside government."
DelBene and Cárdenas ran for DCCC chair before — DelBene following the 2018 election cycle (Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois won) and Cárdenas in 2020 (Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York won).
2. DelBene helped push the rules change that set up her appointment
As our colleague Mike Lillis wrote, "This year, DelBene joined two other Democrats — Reps. Mark Pocan (Wis.) and Brad Schneider (Ill.) — in leading the charge to change the party's internal rules so that the head of the campaign arm was appointed, as it had been until 2016."
The caucus voted to adopt the rule change last month.
3. She has deep ties to Silicon Valley
DelBene, a former Microsoft executive, has ties to Silicon Valley and is considered a strong fundraiser within her party — a key attribute for any chair of the campaign group.
She took a lead introducing privacy legislation in 2018 that aimed to give users control over companies' use of "sensitive personal information" while she has also voiced concerns about past antitrust measures, citing concerns from stakeholders over privacy protections.
Politico wrote in June that she "has used her perch as chair of the business-friendly New Democrats caucus to push back on some of the most aggressive efforts to regulate or restrain Silicon Valley, which she claims would hurt the economy and hamstring the tech industry."
4. She won big this year but previously held a competitive district
Jeffries said, "In the last decade, Rep. DelBene won a tough seat as a Red-to-Blue candidate, held a tough seat as a Frontline candidate and then put that tough seat out of reach."
After losing her first bid in 2010, DelBene was elected to the House in 2012, defeating John Koster (R) 54 percent to 46 percent. This year, she won with 64 percent of the vote to Republican Vincent Cavaleri's 36 percent.
As DCCC chair, DelBene would hail from a safely blue district after outgoing chairman Sean Patrick Maloney (N.Y.) lost his reelection bid last month. Maloney's tight race required the group to inject major resources to try to defend him.
5. She's a moderate and adds female representation to leadership
DelBene chairs the moderate New Democrat Coalition in the current Congress. The group's website says it's made up of "99 forward-thinking Democrats who are committed to pro-economic growth, pro-innovation, and fiscally responsible policies."
DelBene would boost female representation on Democrats' incoming leadership team, joining Minority Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.) and Battleground Leadership Representative Abigail Spanberger (Va.).
Men will serve as minority leader, caucus chair, assistant Democratic leader and Democratic Policy and Communications Committee chair.
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