Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
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The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the Democratic
Hill committee The Hill committees are the common name for the political party committees that work to elect members of their own party to United States Congress ("Hill" refers to Capitol Hill, where the seat of Congress, the Capitol, is located). The four maj ...
for the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises funds, and organizes races in districts that are expected to yield politically notable or close elections. The structure of the committee consists, essentially, of the Chairperson (who according to current Democratic Caucus rules is a fellow member of the caucus appointed by the party leader in the House), their staff, and other Democratic members of Congress that serve in roles supporting the functions of the committee. The Chairperson of the DCCC is the sixth-ranking position among House Democrats, after the
Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...
, the
Majority Leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.
, the
Majority Whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology ...
, the House Assistant Democratic Leader, and the Democratic Caucus Chairperson. The current chair is
Sean Patrick Maloney Sean Patrick Maloney (born July 30, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative from from 2013 to 2023. The district includes Newburgh, Beacon, and Poughkeepsie. A member of the Democratic Party, Malone ...
of New York, who assumed the position in 2021.


History

The DCCC originated in 1866 as the Democratic National Congressional Committee. Due to the reform of campaign finance legislation that took effect in the 2004 election cycle, the DCCC splits into two organizations a few months before each Election Day: # One organization (the "Coordinated" campaign) can continue to stay in contact with the individual congressional campaigns, offering advice and suggestions to candidates and their staffs in each race. # The other organization (the "Independent Expenditure" campaign), which makes independent expenditures in congressional districts on behalf of the campaigns, is not allowed to coordinate activities with the campaigns. In recent elections, the DCCC has played an expansive role in supporting Democratic candidates with independently produced television ads and mail pieces.
Rahm Emanuel Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current United States Ambassador to Japan. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served two terms as the 55th Mayor of Chicago from 2011 ...
assumed the position of DCCC committee chair after the death of the previous chair,
Bob Matsui Robert Takeo Matsui (September 17, 1941 – January 1, 2005) was an American politician from the state of California. Matsui was a member of the Democratic Party and served in the U.S. House of Representatives as the congressman for California ...
, at the end of the 2004 election cycle. Emanuel led the Democratic Party's successful effort to capture the majority in the House of Representatives in the 2006 elections. After Emanuel's election as chair of the Democratic Caucus,
Chris Van Hollen Christopher Van Hollen Jr. (born January 10, 1959) is an American attorney and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Maryland since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Van Hollen served as the U.S. representative ...
became committee chair for the 110th Congress and the 2008 elections. He continued through the 2010 elections. For the 2014 election cycle, Democratic Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...
appointed congressman
Ben Ray Luján Ben Ray Luján ( ; born June 7, 1972) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from New Mexico since 2021. He served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 to 2021 and the assistant House Democratic leader ...
to serve as the committee's chair. In 2022, workers at the DCCC announced they were forming a union affiliated with the Teamsters.


Controversy


Consultant blacklist

After
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of th ...
won her upset congressional victory over
Joe Crowley Joseph Crowley (born March 16, 1962) is an American politician and consultant who served as U.S. Representative from New York's 14th congressional district from 1999 to 2019. He was defeated by Democratic primary challenger Alexandria Ocasio-C ...
, the DCCC implemented a policy blacklisting consultants who worked for primary opponents of Democratic Party incumbents. Highly unpopular among progressives, the organization rolled back the policy in 2021.


Primary preferences

In the 2018 election cycle, the DCCC released negative information about candidate
Laura Moser Laura Moser (born August 30, 1977) is an American author and politician who founded the anti-Trump resistance movement Daily Action. She was a candidate for the United States Congress in Texas's 7th congressional district. Early life and educati ...
, who ran for
US Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...
in Texas' 7th congressional district. The move backfired, as Moser gained donations and support en route to making the runoff before falling short against
Lizzie Fletcher Elizabeth Ann Fletcher (née Pannill; born February 13, 1975) is an American attorney and politician from the state of Texas. A Democrat, she represents in the United States House of Representatives. The district includes much of western Houston ...
. A month after the attack on Moser, the DCCC showed preference in another Texas primary, supporting Colin Allred. The decisions were two among many similar choices made by the organization throughout its history. Similar criticism carried into the next election cycle, prompting
Progressive Caucus The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the most left-leaning faction of the Democratic Party. " e Congressional Progressive Cauc ...
member
Ro Khanna Rohit Khanna (; born September 13, 1976) is an American politician, lawyer, and academic serving as the U.S. representative from California's 17th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated eight-term incu ...
to say:
This unprecedented grab of power is a slap in the face of Democratic voters across the nation. It’s something even Rahm Emanuel would not have done and is totally tone-deaf to the grassroots activists across our nation. Voters are sick of the status quo holding on to power and stifling new voices. They are sick of D.C. politicians who care more about holding on to power than a true competition of ideas."


Russian hacking

In July 2016, the DCCC said it was hacked. Subsequently, a person described as a hacker and known as "
Guccifer 2.0 "Guccifer 2.0" is a persona which claimed to be the hacker(s) who gained unauthorized access to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) computer network and then leaked its documents to the media, the website WikiLeaks, and a conference event. S ...
" (Russian
Main Intelligence Directorate Main Intelligence Directorate may refer to: * Main Directorate of Intelligence (Ukraine), the military intelligence service of Ukraine * GRU The Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, rus, Гла́ ...
persona) reportedly released documents and information that were obtained from the cyberattack on the DCCC.


Supporting election deniers

In the 2022 primary cycle, the DCCC assisted Republican candidates that supported the claim that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump. This assistance took the form of attack ads aired during Republican primaries, the content of which ostensibly decried the further-right candidate’s election denialism and other views described as “dangerous,” with the aim of making that candidate more appealing to Republican primary voters. It was hoped that those more extreme Republican candidates would be more vulnerable to defeat in the subsequent general election. For instance, in Michigan, they aired ads supposedly “against” John Gibbs, a far-right challenger to incumbent Peter Meijer, who had voted to impeach Donald Trump in the second impeachment. Gibbs ultimately lost in the general election to Democratic candidate Hillary Scholten.


List of chairs


See also

*
Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...
*
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Hill committee for the United States Senate. It is the only organization solely dedicated to electing Democrats to the United States Senate. ...
*
National Republican Congressional Committee The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is the Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives. The NRCC was formed in 1866, when the Republican caucuses of the House and S ...
*
National Republican Senatorial Committee The National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC) is the Republican Hill committee for the United States Senate, working to elect Republicans to that body. The NRSC was founded in 1916 as the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. It was reorgan ...


Notes


References


External links

* {{Democratic Party (United States) Congressional Campaign Committee Factions in the Democratic Party (United States) Hill committees