DCCC Announces Three Additions to Top-Tier ‘Red to Blue’ Program

Committee announces latest round of candidates from competitive districts poised to flip or keep critical seats blue 

Today, the DCCC announced the latest additions to the Committee’s highly competitive ‘Red to Blue’ program. These candidates will receive strategic guidance, fundraising support, staff resources, and training to help ensure they are in the best possible position to flip critical seats in November.

“Amish Shah, Rebecca Cooke, and Carl Marlinga have built formidable campaigns and are ready to take the fight to their extreme Republican opponents,” said DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene. “I look forward to working with them to retake the majority so  Congress can get back to work to defend reproductive rights, lower costs, defend Social Security and Medicare, and grow the middle class.”

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 building winning campaigns. 

About DCCC’s New Red To Blue Candidates:

AZ-01 – Amish Shah: Amish Shah is an emergency room physician who will fight tooth and nail to lower the cost of health care and stand up to Big Pharma for price gouging life-saving drugs like insulin. He understands that politicians have no place in the middle of people’s private medical decisions, and he will ensure that women have the freedom to make decisions about their bodies. Shah, who has already represented key parts of Arizona’s First Congressional District in Maricopa County as a State Representative, has a track record of being an independent voice working across party lines to put Arizona families first. In Congress, he’ll work to lower costs for hardworking Arizonans and protect abortion rights.

Donald Trump lost Arizona’s First Congressional District in 2020 and David Schweikert marginally squeaked by in 2022. With abortion on the ballot in Arizona, the stakes and vulnerabilities for anti-abortion zealot David Schwiekert couldn’t be higher. 

MI-10 – Carl Marlinga: As a lifelong Macomb County resident, Carl Marlinga served his community for nearly 40 years as the Macomb County Prosecutor, as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, and most recently as a judge. He’s spent his career upholding the rule of law, sending countless criminals to jail in order to keep communities safe, and protecting people’s fundamental rights. Carl has been widely recognized for his work to crack down on white collar crime and protect domestic abuse victims. 

Last cycle, Carl came within less than half a point of victory, losing to James by only 1,600 votes — despite being outspent 8:1. In a presidential year with a motivated base, this is a district that leans Democratic and with higher name ID and more resources, Carl is in a position to win this November.  

WI-03 – Rebecca Cooke: Born and raised in Eau Claire, Rebecca Cooke grew up helping out on her family’s dairy farm and understands the challenges that middle class families are facing. That’s why Rebecca dedicated her life to building up her community and ensuring West-Central Wisconsinites can thrive. After opening a small retail business in Eau Claire, Rebecca started a nonprofit to help women open small businesses and was appointed to Governor Evers’ Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, where she worked with Democrats and Republicans to create economic opportunities for Wisconsinites.

Recent DCCC analytics polling shows Republican Derrick Van Orden underperforming a generic Republican by five points and virtually tied with a generic Democrat, driven largely by his weakness with the independent voters he needs to win.

See the full slate of the DCCC’s Red to Blue candidates HERE.

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