DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján today announced the first round of candidates to qualify for the DCCC’s highly competitive Red to Blue program. These candidates have earned a spot on Red to Blue by surpassing aggressive fundraising, organization and infrastructure goals. Beyond these promising campaign strengths, these candidates also demonstrate the ability to fight on behalf of hardworking people across the country, keep them safe, and make sure that the economy is working for everyone.
Chairman Luján also announced that Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) and Congressman Denny Heck (WA-10) are co-chairs of the Red to Blue program.
“House Democrats are on offense and will pick up seats in 2016, and these effective, hardworking and diverse candidates are the foundation of our success this year, “ said DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján. “Not only have these individuals proven themselves ready to win by building smart campaigns and through strong fundraising, they have also proven themselves ready to fight on behalf of all the people in their districts, keep them safe and ensure the economy works for everyone.
Luján continued, “The DCCC has worked deliberately to support the best candidates who are ready to win across the country, and these candidates have earned their places in our battle-tested Red to Blue program. I’m excited to work as a team, build on that success and execute winning campaigns.”
In total, 31 districts and candidates are part of the initial list in the Red to Blue or Emerging Races programs. There are 16 candidates selected for Red to Blue, plus 5 districts with multiple Democratic candidates that have also qualified for Red to Blue. In addition, Chairman Luján announced part of the program called Emerging Races, with 8 candidates and 2 Emerging Districts, where campaigns are on track and working hard to put seats in play. There will be additional candidates added to Red to Blue in the future.
The following candidates were named Red to Blue Candidates:
- CA-24 – Salud Carbajal
- CO-06 – Morgan Carroll
- FL-10 – Val Demings
- FL-18 – Randall Perkins
- FL-26 – Annette Taddeo
- IA-01 – Monica Vernon
- IL-10 – Brad Schneider
- ME-02 – Emily Cain
- MI-01 – Lon Johnson
- MI-07 – Gretchen Driskell
- MN-02 – Angie Craig
- NJ-05 – Josh Gottheimer
- NV-03 – Jacky Rosen
- TX-23 – Pete Gallego
- UT-04 – Doug Owens
- VA-10 – LuAnn Bennett
The following districts were named Red to Blue Districts:
- FL-13
- NV-04
- NY-01
- NY-24
- PA-08
The following were named to Red to Blue’s Emerging Races designation:
- AZ-01 – Tom O’Halleran
- CA-10 – Michael Eggman
- MI-08 – Melissa Gilbert
- MT-AL – Denise Juneau
- NH-01 – Carol Shea-Porter
- NY-23 – John Plumb
- PA-07 – Bill Golderer
- WV-02 – Cory Simpson
The following were named to Red to Blue’s Emerging District designation:
- IA-03
- NY-19
About Red to Blue
The DCCC’s Red to Blue program highlights top Democratic campaigns across the country, and offers them financial, communications, grassroots, and strategic support. The program will introduce Democratic supporters to new, competitive candidates in order to help expand the fundraising base for these campaigns.