Wounds are still raw and political bruises are real for House Democrats who lost their seats on Election Day. But the departing lawmakers have some advice for their soon-to-be-former Capitol Hill colleagues: Stay in the middle.
Eleven House Democrats lost their seats: Reps. Gil Cisneros of California, TJ Cox of California, Joe Cunningham of South Carolina, Abby Finkenauer of Iowa, Kendra Horn of Oklahoma, Ben McAdams of Utah, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell of Florida, Collin Peterson of Minnesota, Harley Rouda of California, Donna Shalala of Florida, and Xochitl Torres Small of New Mexico.
No House Republicans lost this year, and the party did considerably better than most pundits predicted. With a pair of New York races still outstanding, it’s possible the partisan lineup at the start of the 117th Congress, on Jan. 4, will be 222 Democrats to 213 Republicans. That will make for one of the narrowest House majorities in decades and hamper the ability of Democratic leaders to pass legislation.
Particularly bills that are too liberal. And that was part of the problem for centrist-leaning members in this year’s elections. They’re pointing fingers of blame at progressive members who pushed “defund the police” and socialist messaging,
“I think that some of the conversations we need to have is about how the voices of people that are more moderate and balance of who we are as representatives — that everyone is heard,” said Horn, who lost her race in an Oklahoma City-based district to Republican Rep.-elect Stephanie Bice.
“And it’s not just certain pieces of our party in the [Democratic] Caucus that those voices are heard. I think that’s one of the things that’s really important to talk about,” Horn added.
Cunningham, who was defeated by Republican Rep.-elect Nancy Mace in a coastal South Carolina district, suggested his party can be successful by campaigning on local issues.
“I think we always should continue sticking to kitchen table issues, but first and foremost, we’ve got to get through this pandemic,” he told the Washington Examiner about navigating the COVID-19 situation. “And we need some additional relief, and I was proud to stand with the Problem Solvers Caucus in putting together a bipartisan, bicameral deal.”
Shalala, who was Health and Human Services secretary for eight years in the Clinton administration, lost to Republican Rep.-elect Maria Elvira Salazar. Shalala told the Washington Examiner she is thinking about running again but says her party has a lot of work to do.
“We got run over in South Florida, and that means we have to rebuild our ground game. I mean, there are things we can do,” she said. “But I think when you get the presidency, you celebrate, right, and they take a deep breath, and you go back to work.”
She continued, “I’m thinking about [running again]. I’m going see what the redistricting looks like. We have to rebuild the local party. We’ll get some new leadership probably. But we’re going to rebuild from the ground up.”
California House Republicans won back four of the seven districts they lost in 2018 this cycle, and one of those seats was represented by Democratic Rep. TJ Cox in the Central Valley. Cox told the Washington Examiner his party did not do enough to amplify the base’s message to the public.
“When we say leftist elements, we’re talking about quality, affordable healthcare for all. Everybody knows that we want that. You’re talking about sustainable energy tech systems,” Cox said. “You want investments into rural America. And everybody wants that. So these aren’t so much leftist points of views. These are very mainstream.”
Most of the defeated this year lost after a single term, having been swept into power in 2018, when Democrats claimed their first majority in eight years. Several flipped long-held Republican seats by razor-thin margins that cycle, and then this year lost in rematches against the same opponents or stronger new challengers, some in long, drawn-out ballot counts by slim margins.
The former chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois, was reportedly “furious” with the pollsters who predicted the party would win at least 15 seats in the House.
