The battle for victory in the 2026 midterms is well underway. Voters across the country are expressing their rising disapproval of our elected officials at both the state and federal level. People are looking for someone to deliver strong, decisive action amidst a crowd of Congressional quitters.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) knows this, and according to their Chairwoman Suzan DelBene (D-WA), they’re strategizing around it. DelBene joins Jen to give the run down on the House seats up for the taking. DelBene and Jen discuss what matters most to voters, how the DCCC is approaching the midterms, and why redistricting and supreme court rulings could change everything.
Suzan DelBene is the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and the former chair of the New Democrat Coalition. She is also the House Representative for the 1st district in Washington.
Jen Rubin
Hi, this is Jen Rubin, Energy Chief of Contra, and I’m delighted to have the chairwoman of the DCCC, that’s the group that helps elect Democrats to the House, Chair Susan Delbani. Welcome!
Chair Suzan DelBene
Thanks, great to be here!
Jen Rubin
It’s wonderful to have you. Has your job gotten easier since November?
Chair Suzan DelBene
Well, I think, you know, I am confident that we will take back the House, but I know that This is a very, very divisive, tough political cycle we’re in. Republicans are gonna throw everything at this, and so I don’t take anything for granted. We are gonna work hard, we have great candidates. The American people are with us, that’s why we’re gonna win, but, we know through, whether it’s redistricting or, you know, Supreme Court cases, there’s a lot out there that could change, and again, not gonna take anything for granted.
Jen Rubin
There are obviously local issues in every single district in the country, but there are obviously big themes. When you tell people what Democrats are running on in 2026, what do you tell them?
Chair Suzan DelBene
Well, the number one big theme, across the country, and has been all year, is affordability. Costs have gone up for families, housing, food, healthcare, childcare, energy costs. All going up and going up because of… directly because of actions taken by the administration and Republicans in Congress. I mean, tariffs. Raising costs. of, you know, food hurting our farmers, hurting our ability to export goods, but also the costs of healthcare. A huge issue across the country between the big ugly bill slashing Medicaid. And giving tax breaks to the wealthiest, but not helping working families. And then you add on top of that cutting the tax credits for the Affordable Care Act, which has caused premiums to skyrocket for even more people, and that’s… something we’ve been fighting back against, and we got legislation in the House to extend them, but this is… these are all part of the struggle people are having with affordability. And remember, Donald Trump said on day one, I’m gonna, you know, lower costs on day one. it’s a… probably the biggest example, and we’ve seen it over and over, of broken promises. Saying they’re gonna do one thing, not doing it, and it’s not even a priority. I think you heard Donald Trump talk about affordability as a hoax. So if we’re serious, and people actually listen to what the American people are saying, and, you know, Republicans actually talk to their constituents, they would hear this every part of the country. And, maybe the other reason why their dialogue that things are actually better, and people, you know, just aren’t listening is that people respond with what they feel and see. You know, what’s… if they’re struggling to pay a bill, it doesn’t matter what Republicans say, they know that it’s a hard time for them, and I think the reason we’ve really resonated with people across the country is because it’s what they feel. It’s the experience they’re going through right now.
Jen Rubin
Absolutely. Republicans in the House have voted lockstep on almost everything with Donald Trump, but in tough, competitive races, they get back to their district, and they say, I’m a moderate! I’m there to make sure I’m representing your interests, and I’m really a very independent person. How do your candidates combat that? Because these people get elected time again, because come election time, suddenly they’re sunny moderates.
Chair Suzan DelBene
Well, so I don’t think there are moderates left in the Republican House, and the reason why is they have over and over and over again, in the majority, I should add, voted in lockstep with Donald Trump. It’s… you know, it’s not enough for people to say something. People are looking at their actions and what they’re doing to fight for them, and sometimes they will say something about how they’re, you know, gonna stand up for their communities, and they cave time and time and time again. So, people are seeing that, and we’ve seen in special elections across the country, Democrats have been running ahead by about 13 points, and part of that swing is because of this ongoing set of broken promises, and Absolutely, we are talking about… when we talk about taking back the majority, it’s the purple districts across the country that this battle is happening in, and in these areas, people are looking for someone who is authentic and independent-minded and is going to stand up. And we’ve had… Republicans only have a three-seat majority. It doesn’t take many Republicans to stand up to actually make a difference on policy. And, unless we forced them to, which we did on the Affordable Care Act tax credits, it was because of Democratic leadership that we got a vote on the floor. you haven’t seen Republicans, push their leadership to make some… to stand up to Donald Trump, so, So people see that. They want folks who are gonna stand up for them, who are going to make a difference, not folks who are just gonna go along. And right now, Republicans are rubber-stamping Donald Trump, to the detriment of our communities.
Jen Rubin
There’s also just the chaos and the, authoritarian factor. We see what’s going on in Minnesota, where he’s really, essentially gone to war with one of his states. He’s taken us to war with Venezuela. Corruption is off the charts. How much does that all play into your races and the fact that he’s getting zero congressional oversight?
Chair Suzan DelBene
Well, all of those have an impact. One, on affordability. People say, what are you doing? You said you were going to focus on our communities, on our… the needs of our communities. None of these things have anything to do with helping lower prices for American families. or making our communities safer. He said on immigration he was going to go after the worst of the worst. He’s terrorizing communities. This is not what people asked for, and if you talk to folks, even folks who voted for Donald Trump, this isn’t what they asked for either. They still expect due process. This isn’t about the worst of the worst. This is terrorizing communities, like we’re seeing happen in Minneapolis right now. And even this… no plan. There’s no rhyme or reason, whether you look at, what… in Venezuela, you know, Maduro was a violent dictator. If you ask the administration, what’s the plan? What was your strategy going forward? What… how much will it cost? What’s the impact on the American people? They can’t answer those questions. People want answers to those questions. They want a Congress that’s engaged and involved is going to be a check on this president. And I always remind folks, you know, if Republicans thought that what Donald Trump is doing is so great, then they should be encouraging votes in Congress. They have the majority, they could vote on it, but they don’t want to vote on it. They’re not necessarily supportive. They just want to hide in the corner, and we need… we are a co-equal branch of government. We need folks who are going to stand up as a co-equal branch, and I think you hear that across the country, too.
Jen Rubin
Absolutely. With a 13-point swing, if that holds, and obviously it wouldn’t hold in all parts of the country, but if it did, that would sweep it at an awful lot of seats, because most people in Congress did not win their seats by 13%. Has the map expanded for you? And if so, what are the number of seats that you’re now looking at that really are in play?
Chair Suzan DelBene
So, we have on our map, we have 39 districts in play. Those are the districts we’re on offense in, where we think we can flip those seats. Again, we need 3 more seats to take back the majority, or to net 3 more seats to take back the majority. So, 39, and we need 3. But those districts are all across the country, from Arizona and Michigan and Pennsylvania to Kentucky and Tennessee, Florida and Texas. you know, Wisconsin, Iowa, all over, and… we have great candidates. I think people really feel a calling, like, their patriotic duty to stand up and run, to make sure they’re strong voices, and to stand up and be, make sure that Congress is doing its job as, as a co-equal branch. So we have great people who want to run, and… we have these opportunities in these districts all across the country. So, 39, we had just added some seats in December, so that map did expand more recently, and we’ll continue to adjust, both based on what we see happen with redistricting, which is also… has an impact on the map, and then, what we see as candidates come through, and, and we continue to talk to communities. So. It’s a big map, we have a lot of opportunities, and a lot of incredible people running.
Jen Rubin
And in terms of the seats that you’re defending, have you identified the ones that the Republicans are targeting in particular, and how are you feeling about those?
Chair Suzan DelBene
Yeah, so those are our frontliners. We have 24 frontliners. Those are the seats where we have, Democrats who are in very purple districts. 12 of our frontliners actually won in districts that Donald Trump won in last cycle, to give you a sense of the fact that these are folks who are incredibly strong and even won, these districts in 2024, when Trump also was on the ticket. So we… I’ll obviously want to make sure they’re in a strong position, too. We can’t add by subtracting, so these are the districts that we’re fighting, and I think we have great members of Congress who not only won districts in… won in tough districts, but have been strong voices for their community, strong independent voices for their community, which is why they’ve been re-elected. So, collectively, 39 on offense are 24 frontliners. Collectively, that is our… our battleground, our map.
Jen Rubin
That’s a lot of seats. So, Obviously, there are many Democratic primaries as well, and the DCCC doesn’t generally, unless there’s an incumbent, of course, take a role in that. Are there more primaries on the Democratic side than usual? Fewer? And how concerned are you that those will get too expensive and too divisive that will diminish the chances in November?
Chair Suzan DelBene
So again, remember, our focus is on these purple districts, the purple districts that really are going to decide the majority, and yeah, in some of these we have primaries, and I remember I first ran for Congress in such a purple district, and, a primary.
Jen Rubin
help make me a stronger candidate for the general election, too. So we have… sometimes we have multiple great candidates running in the same district. We can’t always.
Chair Suzan DelBene
Spread things out, as you might like to, if you could look at… and… they’re doing a great job, and so we’ll see how that plays out. Our goal is to make sure all of our candidates are in a strong position to win in the general, and the places… the times we have gotten involved in primaries is when it is very, very clear there is a candidate who is by far the strongest candidate to win in the general election, too, and we want to make sure we’re going to be in a strong position of a competitive position in the general election. So, You’ll… we’ll start rolling out what we call our red to blue candidates. We’ve talked about the districts, the 39 districts that we are on offense on, but we will start releasing our list of candidates that we think are the candidates in those districts, and that comes out in batches. As we start going. So we’ll have, you know, our first list will, you know, be coming out earlier this year, and we will continue that going forward. So it’s not just districts, but it’s actually the names of the candidates we think are the candidates. Right. To win.
Jen Rubin
The Democratic Party, unlike the Republican Party, is not locked and stepped. They’re not a homogeneous party. The Democrat who votes in Brooklyn is not the same one who votes in Iowa. What’s your philosophy in terms of having a big tent, and not, getting into the business of trying to make everybody kind of a mushy middle, candidate, but have people that That are appropriate to the district.
Chair Suzan DelBene
You know, I actually think that’s what makes us an incredibly strong caucus, is having people come in, representing their communities, and the healthy debate that happens when we talk about policy, it’s not about it’s about unity and fighting, but it’s not necessarily about unanimity and agreeing. And part of that debate is saying, here’s the impact of this policy on my community that might be different in a different community, and talking about that, and then working through that to come up with a solution that’s the best solution going forward. I actually think strong policy generally, and… if we had Republicans who are really coming to the table to that… as part of that debate, that would be helpful. Unfortunately, we don’t have that right now, and that’s why you’ve seen, kind of the strength of Democrats fighting for policy, is because we actually have those connections with our community and are really working to, talk to each other about the right way to approach policy.
Jen Rubin
Bye.
Chair Suzan DelBene
you know, cross the Congress if we didn’t have Republicans who are just a rubber stamp for Donald Trump.
Jen Rubin
Absolutely. Couple final questions for you. First of all, money. How are you doing on fundraising? Are you being outraised by Republicans? Are people more enthusiastic? And are fundraising numbers going up now that you had such success in November, and that, enthusiasm is certainly high among many Democrats?
Chair Suzan DelBene
Well, the number one thing we can do to put a check on this administration and to make sure we have a functional Congress is to take back the House, to take back the gavels. And so, support for House members, support for the DCCC is critical. We’ve continually outraised our Republican counterparts on the House side, but we’re going to keep fighting. They have… tons of, dark money. Donald Trump’s been raising money. We are going to continue to fight hard. We don’t always need more money, but we need to make sure we have enough money for our candidates to be known, for us to engage with people on the ground, to get messaging out, and so we are going to continue to fight. But we’re a strong position, and we’re going to continue to remind folks and introduce them to our incredible candidates. Again, the American people are with us, but we’re not going to take anything for granted. This is part of the work we need to do to make sure we’re in the strongest position possible.
Jen Rubin
Absolutely. And final question for you. We do not only face the, small ball of redistricting that we’ve seen in Texas, and then the response of California. But, our viewers, listeners, readers, are very familiar with the Kelly case, that they could wipe out Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, and there could be massive redistricting, particularly in the South, that would, essentially decimate, Hispanic and Black representatives. What’s your strategy, in response to that? How are you going to come back to that? How are you going to bolster those candidates? And even if they redistrict. Are you confident, as has happened in Texas, that maybe you’re still gonna win in some of these seats because Hispanic voters, for example, have turned dramatically against Donald Trump?
Chair Suzan DelBene
So, you know, first of all, we need to understand exactly what the Supreme Court decides. It’s not necessarily binary. They’re going to decide one thing or the other. There are lots of different, kind of. you know, nuanced positions they could take that could impact what could happen, but I’m keenly aware, and we are gonna do everything we can to make sure that the American people are aware of what’s happening, and that we’re fighting for their rights. we know, to your point, that, we’re going to continue to fight back. You’ve seen states like California stand up, and other states are continuing to look at redistricting, anticipating, because even, you know, Florida, Republicans in Florida are trying to change maps still, so this ongoing effort, even separate from the Supreme Court case, is still going on. If the Supreme Court case is decided later, it may be later than has an impact on this cycle, so it… also, when they decide could make a difference. But I think, clearly, your point is the key point, which is the We know that we can win in districts across the country with great candidates, and with folks who are talking about issues that matter. People are rejecting the policy of Republicans, so We’re going to be fighting in districts all across the country. We’re going to do everything we can and use every tool we have to fight back about… against their attempts to rig the system. But we also know the American people are with us, and that’s why we have opportunities all across the country to take back the House, and we will take back the House. We want to take back the House, we want to have a strong majority, but again, the only reason we get there is because we’re going to work incredibly hard, take nothing for granted, and the American people are with us.
Jen Rubin
Now, some people, because of redistricting, aren’t quite sure even who their representatives are and what their races are. How do they get information about who their congressperson is, who’s running, and what they can do if they want to support, one of your candidates?
Chair Suzan DelBene
So first of all, in terms of our candidates, we post them, DCCC.org, DCCC.org. We have up there all of our frontliners, those incumbents in tough re-elections. We have our map of where we’re on offense. You can go up there and you can see, you know, who candidates are, who our frontliners are. These are the folks in the toughest districts. But of course, people can always go and get local election information through their Secretary of State, or just going online and doing a search. I think you’re absolutely right. People should be aware of who their elected representatives are across the board, and make sure they’re engaging, because You know, people… our job is to be representatives, and making sure we hear from our communities is incredibly important.
Jen Rubin
Well, thank you so much, Chairwoman. Best of luck. Many of us are going to be following a lot of these races very carefully, and best of luck to you and your candidates.
Chair Suzan DelBene
Thank you. I appreciate it. Take care.
Jen Rubin
No problem. Bye-bye.
