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Recent reporting takes a look under the hood of a key component of House Democrats’ over-performance in 2024 and how it remains part of their strategy to retake the majority in the upcoming midterms.
Building off of a cycle where House Democrats and the DCCC held Republicans to the smallest majority in nearly a century, the DCCC is assembling the team, resources, and expertise to power Democrats to victory in 2026.
Read more from the National Journal below.
National Journal: Inside the DCCC’s behind-the-scenes playbook
James Downs | February 20, 2025
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Back for a second crack, [DCCC Chairwoman Suzan] DelBene is […] running back a similar playbook they argue led to candidates’ solid performance despite lag further up the ticket.
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The behind-the-scenes game plan centers on vendor diversity. This past cycle, the DCCC expanded its request-for-proposal process—which started during the 2020 cycle—in an effort to find more talented vendors. The DCCC employed 13 firms that worked with the committee for the first time, and 47 percent of its vendors were minority-run or owned. These vendors contributed to research, ads, focus groups, and other parts of campaigns that the committee believes helped gain ground when the White House and Senate flipped.
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The rationale, according to those who worked with the DCCC, is that these new vendors offer unique perspectives in culturally complex districts across the country that the historically used firms may not be able to speak to as well. The committee’s most vulnerable members and top-tier recruits outran the top of the ticket […].
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“It’s perspective more than anything,” said Raghu Devaguptapu, who runs Left Hook Strategy’s D.C. office and who worked on the DCCC’s independent expenditures. “When you have people who have a better understanding of [cultural complexities], it changes.”
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One such example is California’s 45th District in Orange County, the most diverse battleground district in the country. Democratic Rep. Derek Tran flipped the seat in a nail-biter against former Rep. Michelle Steel.
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To be successful, the Tran campaign worked with an on-the-ground team to direct online in-language ad content at key demographic groups within the various AAPI communities.
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[Colin] Rogero, whose Conexión worked for the DCCC in New Mexico’s 2nd District—a predominantly Hispanic seat in southern New Mexico—as well as for Vice President Kamala Harris, said having a firm that knows the “little nuances,” such as people’s music preferences, helps produce an effective ad. After winning by less than a point in 2022, Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez won a rematch with Republican Yvette Herrell by 4 points last cycle.
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Opportunities at any national committee were not always plentiful for firms owned or run by people of color, as the committees relied on the same small group of consultants who had worked on previous races spanning the country.
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“Over the years, the pipelines were much smaller,” said Doug Thornell, chief executive officer at SKDK, a Democratic communications firm. “The competition is less; the opportunities are fewer.”
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Thornell said the DCCC’s strategy of casting a wide net for vendors creates more competition in order to secure the best possible services.
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“I think one of the things the [DCCC] has done over the years is they’ve increased competition for this business by opening up and creating a much larger pool of potential firms,” Thornell said. “By increasing competition—and you increase competition by bringing more people into the mix who are having to make the case as to why they’re the best firm to do this work—you create more opportunities for more diverse firms.”
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The DCCC is gearing up for another cycle, building on these same policies they found successful. [..T]he committee hopes its commitment to fielding the best behind-the-scenes talent will this time get Democrats to 218 seats.
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“A key part of House Democrats’ over-performance was having diverse voices at the decision-making table with expertise in communicating on various platforms,” DCCC Executive Director Julie Merz told National Journal in a statement. “The result was effective and authentic paid communication with voters, which will continue to be a key part of our strategy to win back the House in 2026.”
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“I think when you have a team that reflects the electorate that you’re communicating with, you’re going to do better,” said SKDK’s Thornell. “You’re going to win more races.”
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