Top House Democrats are demanding answers after the party's campaign arm burned through more than half a million dollars backing a losing candidate in Arizona's Democratic primary, marking the third major meddling failure this cycle.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent $514,000 in a joint ad buy supporting former TV journalist Marlene Galán-Woods in Arizona's 1st district race, only to watch her trail state Rep. Amish Shah by roughly seven percentage points heading into Wednesday evening with 87% of votes counted.
The fiasco has ignited behind-the-scenes fury among lawmakers who fund the organization through mandatory dues contributions. Several senior Democrats say the money would have been far more useful deployed in November's general election contests.
"Can you imagine if we'd put that $800,000 in the general election so we can win in November," Rep. Delia Ramirez of Illinois said, pointing to the total spent across multiple failed primary interventions. "I would recommend that we just don't engage in primaries."
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a major DCCC dues contributor, called for a fundamental rethinking of how the organization deploys resources. "That's $100,000 that I put in," Ramirez added about her personal contribution, emphasizing that the DCCC "shouldn't be spending this money" on internal party fights.
The Arizona result is hardly isolated. In June, the DCCC-backed state Assembly member Jasmeet Bains lost to progressive activist Randy Villegas in California's 22nd district primary, while DCCC-endorsed state Sen. Joe Baldacci fell to progressive rival Matt Dunlap in Maine's 2nd district. The committee spent roughly $250,000 in joint ad buys with those candidates, according to ad tracking data.
"The DCCC is not god," one House Democrat told Axios, capturing the sentiment roiling party ranks. "They cannot dictate outcomes. There needs to be an acknowledgement that there's a limit to the ability of the DCCC to choose what it considers to be the perfect candidate."
Another lawmaker expressed frustration that the organization acted unilaterally. "I would prefer to see the dollars that I invest spent on candidates who won their Democratic primaries rather than have the DCCC inject themselves," the Democrat said. A third complained that "the DCCC shouldn't be taking a position in a primary unless everybody agrees, and I'm not aware anyone was consulted."
Rep. Susie Lee, who represents swing-district Democrats in leadership, was equally blunt. "I personally don't think we should be investing against Democrats when we've got a big battleground," she told Axios.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury of Arizona added that dues-funded organizations shouldn't be "picking winners and losers among Democrats." Rep. Ro Khanna pressed for a different approach, calling on the DCCC to back progressive candidates like Tom Dunlap who can "build a grassroots organization and speak to the times."
Some DCCC allies defended the group's strategy. Rep. Greg Stanton, co-chair of the DCCC's frontline program, said the organization would "make sure we are not outspent in that race" during the general election. Rep. Julie Johnson expressed confidence in DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene's decision-making.
A DCCC spokesperson dismissed the criticism, saying, "At the end of the day, Democrats are united in our shared goal to flip the House and make life affordable for everyday Americans."
Author James Rodriguez: "The committee keeps betting against the grassroots and losing, then acting surprised when the people bankrolling them get tired of watching money evaporate."
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