DCCC Announces First Round of Candidates Named to Coveted 2026 ‘Red to Blue’ Program

“House Democrats are on offense and poised to take back the majority, thanks in large part to the strength of our candidates,” said DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene. “The candidates named to this first round of our Red to Blue program are united by their desire to fight for hardworking families in their districts — not the billionaires bankrolling Republicans’ corrupt and divisive machine. They are laser-focused on lowering costs, saving health care, and putting people first, as opposed to their Republican opponents who have abandoned everyday Americans so they can give handouts to the privileged and the elite.”

Red to Blue is a highly competitive and battle-tested DCCC program that arms top-tier candidates with organizational and fundraising support to help them continue to develop strong campaigns. Candidates earn a spot in the program by surpassing aggressive goals for grassroots engagement, local support, campaign organization, and fundraising.

About DCCC’s Red To Blue Candidates:
AZ-02 – Jonathan Nez
Former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez was born and raised in Northern Arizona and has spent his life putting people before politics. Growing up on his family’s ranch without running water or electricity, Jonathan learned the values of hard work, responsibility, and community. He brought those lessons with him as President of the Navajo Nation, where he worked with his Republican Vice President to get things done for rural Arizona. Jonathan is running for Congress to give rural Arizonans a real seat at the table, cut through the noise, and deliver real results — not play party politics. As the 2024 Democratic nominee, Jonathan significantly overperformed statewide Democratic candidates — at the same time Republican Eli Crane significantly underperformed the top of the ticket. 

AZ-06 – JoAnna Mendoza
JoAnna “Jo” Mendoza is a Marine Corps veteran, single mom, and battle-tested Arizonan born and raised in Pinal County. The daughter of farmworkers, Jo enlisted in the U.S. military at 17 and served our country for 20 years, both in the Navy and the Marine Corps. A retired Marine Corps drill instructor, Jo is the mission-focused leader Arizonans need in Congress to lower costs for families, create good-paying jobs, and keep communities safe. Jo is running to serve Arizona’s Sixth Congressional District because she’s sick and tired of rubberstamp politicians like Juan Ciscomani who say what they think Arizonans want to hear, then vote however their party bosses tell them to. Unlike Ciscomani, Jo will always put Arizonans first.

IA-01 – Christina Bohannan 
Growing up in a trailer in a rural small town, Christina Bohannan understands the struggles Iowa families face firsthand. When her construction worker dad got sick and his insurance was canceled, her family was forced to choose between paying for his medicine and paying for everything else. A working mom, Christina is running for Congress to bring common sense solutions to Washington that put Iowans first. While Mariannette Miller-Meeks is in the pocket of the special interests, Christina will take them on to protect Iowans’ health care, grow the rural economy, and get costs down. In 2024, Christina came just 799 votes away from flipping this Trump +8 seat, and this year she will finish the job to defeat Miller-Meeks and bring real representation to Southeast Iowa. 

IA-03 – Sarah Trone Garriott
Sarah Trone Garriott is a mom and a Lutheran minister who has spent her life serving her community — as a hospital chaplain, a pastor, a leader at the Des Moines Area Religious Council Food Pantry Network, and now a State Senator. Sarah successfully flipped a Republican-held seat in the Iowa State Senate in 2020; then she took on the Republican State Senate president in 2022 and won before going on to defend her Trump-won seat again in 2024. Sarah has always stood up for hardworking Iowans and will fight to lower costs, protect health care, and make life more affordable for families like hers. While Zach Nunn works for his party bosses and special interests, Sarah works for Iowa. 

MI-04 – Sean McCann
Born and raised in Michigan where he is now raising his family, Sean McCann has dedicated his career to giving back to his community: as a nonprofit leader, State Representative, and now a State Senator after flipping a Republican-held seat. For Sean, public service is about problem solving and helping Michigan families achieve the American dream. Sean worked across the aisle to pass bipartisan Medicaid expansion and delivered the largest tax cut in Michigan history. Bill Huizenga has gotten rich in Congress while siding with his billionaire backers over Michigan families but Sean has never forgotten who he works for. In a district that voted for Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Sean is the exact kind of leader to cut through the chaos and get results for Southwest Michigan. 

NC-11 – Jamie Ager
A proud son of Western North Carolina and fourth-generation farmer, Jamie Ager grew up on his family farm, Hickory Nut Gap. Together, he and his wife built his family farm into a successful, sustainable small business. Jamie has never hesitated to help his neighbors. After Hurricane Helene, Jamie opened up his home and his farm to make sure those in need had a safe place to stay and food to eat — and when the time came, Jamie helped his neighbors repair their homes with his very own hands while Chuck Edwards abandoned North Carolinians. Jamie knows the value of hard work and community, and he’s ready to bring those principles to Congress.

PA-08 – Paige Cognetti
Paige Cognetti is a reformer who is willing to take on anyone to root out corruption and make government work for the people it’s supposed to serve. She first ran for Mayor of Scranton as an independent with a pledge to take on her own party and clean up a corrupt city hall — her campaign even earned the nickname “Paige Against the Machine.” Now in her third term as Mayor, Paige has delivered on her promise to do things differently. She’s breathed new life into Scranton by putting more cops on the beat and revitalizing the city’s finances. Her record stands in stark contrast to Congressman Rob Bresnahan, who has made himself the poster-child of D.C. corruption by breaking his promise to ban congressional stock trading and instead becoming one of the most active stock traders in all of Congress. The contrast couldn’t be clearer: while Bresnahan makes a quick buck, Paige is delivering for Northeastern Pennsylvanians. 

PA-10 – Janelle Stelson
As a local broadcast journalist, Janelle Stelson has spent her career listening to and advocating for the people of Central Pennsylvania. She moved to Harrisburg in 1986 to join WHTM-TV as a reporter and weather anchor, and later joined WGAL-TV 8 where she spent 26 years as Central Pennsylvania’s most trusted voice. Janelle isn’t a career politician, she’s a truth-telling outsider running to shake up a broken Washington and make life more affordable. In 2024, she ran an incredibly strong race, winning Independent, Republican, and Democratic voters and outperforming the top of the ticket by one of the largest margins out of any candidate across the entire country. As Scott Perry continues to put his own extreme politics ahead of Central Pennsylvanians, Janelle is poised to flip this seat. 

TN-05 – Chaz Molder 
Chaz Molder is a native son of Middle Tennessee. Chaz was elected as the mayor of his hometown of Columbia, a city that voted for Donald Trump by double digits,in 2018 defeating an incumbent Republican to become the youngest mayor in his city’s 200+ year history. Since then, Chaz has delivered for his community, revitalizing downtown Columbia, investing in public safety, and prioritizing community engagement all while passing a balanced budget without increasing property taxes. Chaz knows what it takes to win in tough places — he’s done it twice before while Andy Ogles has never faced a strong challenger in his career. Now, Chaz is ready to win again and bring Middle Tennessee values to Congress. 

VA-01 – Shannon Taylor 
As Henrico’s top prosecutor, Shannon Taylor has made it her mission to protect and defend Virginia families. With a 90% conviction rate in homicide cases, Shannon has a record of holding accountable anyone who tries to harm her community. A native of Charlottesville and graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Richmond Law School, she began her career as a prosecutor in Richmond before serving as a Special Assistant in the U.S. Attorney’s office. In 2011, she flipped the Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office from Republican to Democrat, becoming the first woman elected to the role and the first Democrat in nearly 40 years. She has since been reelected three times, proving she knows how to win tough races. Now Shannon is continuing her mission to defend Virginians, this time taking on nearly 20-year incumbent Rob Wittman who has exploded his personal net worth while in office and left hardworking Virginians behind. 

VA-02 – Elaine Luria
Elaine Luria knows what service looks like. At only 17 years old, Elaine wanted to be a part of something bigger than herself so she joined the Navy, where she served for 20 years as a Surface Warfare Officer and nuclear engineer. Before retiring as a Commander, Elaine deployed six times to the Middle East and Western Pacific serving on destroyers, carriers, and ultimately as the Commanding Officer of a combat-ready unit of 400 sailors. Elaine continued her service in Congress representing Coastal Virginia for four years, where she passed legislation to provide three cost-of-living increases for our veterans, lower health care and prescription drug costs, and led the most significant expansion of veterans’ health care in our lifetime — the PACT Act. Now, Elaine is answering the call to serve once again because Jen Kiggans has repeatedly broken her promises to Virginians and put her party bosses over the veterans and hardworking families she swore she would protect. 

WI-03 – Rebecca Cooke 
Rebecca Cooke is a 6th generation Wisconsinite who worked and grew up on a dairy farm in Eau Claire, raised with the values of service and hard work. As a small business owner and nonprofit leader — and now as a waitress — Rebecca has spent her life building community and serving others. She understands the experiences of working families because she’s lived them, and she believes we need more working-class voices in Congress. Rebecca is running to better serve communities across Wisconsin, put people first, and provide more opportunities for success, and she will be a relentless fighter for the Western Wisconsin way of life. While Derrick Van Orden thinks he’s better than the people he represents, no one fights harder for Wisconsin families and farmers than Rebecca. Following her overperformance in this Trump district last cycle, Rebecca is the candidate to flip this seat and bring Wisconsin values to Congress. 

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