Rep. Tim Ryan, who announced Thursday he wants to lead House Democrats in the next Congress, is proposing changing how the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee operates.
“The regressive agenda we can expect from President Trump and congressional Republicans means that our party cannot afford to fall short of reclaiming our majority in 2018,” Ryan stated in circulating his five-point proposal Monday.
“Like any winning team, success starts with good recruiting,” he continued. “We need to get back to our grassroots in how we find and support new candidates and how we integrate all members of our caucus in that process.”
Democrats were expected to flip upwards of 20 House seats on Election Day but so far have only netted six (California Republican Darrell Issa’s race has not been called yet).
The party’s drubbing on Election Day is what ultimately led the Ohioan to challenge California’s Nancy Pelosi for the minority leader position when the House Democratic Caucus meets Nov. 30 to select its leaders.
First, Ryan wants to make the DCCC chairman position an elected post. Current caucus rules allow the minority leader to appoint the person with the caucus then only ratifying the Democratic leader’s choice.
Pelosi has led House Democrats for 14 years. She appointed New Mexico’s Ben Ray Lujan DCCC chairman in 2014.
Next, Ryan wants the the DCCC — the committee charged with electing Democrats to the House — to have 12 regional vice chairmen.
The Democratic Caucus’s “bi-coastal” concentration and lack of members from “flyover country” in leadership was another major factor in Ryan’s decision to take on the formidable Pelosi, whose home-state delegation alone accounts for one-fifth of all House Democrats
Ryan also wants the freshman class to appoint an adviser to the DCCC and pledges to develop a mentor program that pairs candidates with current House members.
Finally, he promises to do more to support candidates early.
“We cannot wait until the final months before Election Day to get active in congressional races,” he said. “I will work with the DCCC chair to ensure we are doing a better job of assisting candidates earlier — including not only financial help but also simply providing more extensive technical advice and tools.”
Ryan reportedly has not paid all of his 2016 DCCC dues. The committee assigns members dues payable over each two-year cycle based on their committee assignments, geographic location and safety of their seat. Ryan’s target was $200,000.
Pelosi’s fundraising prowess is one of her strongest attributes. Since joining leadership in 2002, she had raised $567.9 million for Democrats as of Election Day.
