← Bulwark Takes
Loading summary
Transcript31 lines
- [00:00]
TikTok Advertiser
Craving something specific, from global flavors to viral snacks, TikTok has it all. If you can dream it, you can make it right at home. Find your next favorite dish on TikTok.
- [00:15]
Rakuten Advertiser
Don't you wish everything was more rewarding with Rakuten? Almost everything is. You can earn cash back on those new shoes you've been wanting. You can save on the next trip you book. You can cash in on groceries. Just join. Shop your favorite brands and save Target, Instacart, Expedia, Macy's, Sephora, cvs. The list is long. Save online, in store and at over 22,000 restaurants. And when it's time to redeem those rewards, get your money exactly how you want it. Choose PayPal, check, Bilt points or cash out with gift cards. Eligible American Express card members can choose to earn membership rewards points instead of cash back. Terms and conditions apply. So go ahead, take a trip, fill a cart, order dessert. Rakuten is a work world of rewards. Join today for free. Go to rakuten.com or get the app that's R a K u T E
- [01:12]
Joe Perdicone
N hey there and welcome to the Bulwark. I'm Joe Perdicone, the author of Press Pass, which is all of your congressional news for the Bulwark. And I'm joined by the DCCC chair, Susan DelBene. How you doing?
- [01:24]
Susan DelBene
I'm doing well. How are you?
- [01:26]
Joe Perdicone
Good. So we've had a lot of primaries in the past few weeks. The races for November starting to take shape. I know that this morning you just announced four new Target districts, one of them that we can start with. That was very interesting to me. Is Rebecca Bennett running against Tom Kane Jr. For those watching who don't know, Tom Kane is a congressman in New Jersey who's been missing for. For a couple months now. He's released some statements, he's did a phone interview, but he still doesn't say why he's missing. But he'll be back in a few weeks, but no set date. So obviously that's going to be a factor going into this race that the congressman can't be found. But what are the key areas where you think that race can be won? And is this absence something you're going to lean heavily on?
- [02:21]
Susan DelBene
We have an incredible candidate, Rebecca Bennett, who won in the primary just recently in New Jersey. 7. She is a former naval aviator, just a strong leader in her community, has been an incredibly strong candidate and really is connected to her community. A strong contrast to Tom King Jr. Who just talked about hasn't even appeared for his district hasn't even shown up. No one knows where he is. For months, he has been absent and has not voted. Folks want someone who's going to stand up for them, especially given the challenges communities are facing right now. Skyrocketing costs hitting families for housing, food, health care, childcare, energy costs, gas prices going up because of this reckless war with no plan, no strategy. And Tom King Jr. Is nowhere to be found. So having a veteran, someone who has dedicated their life to public service, strongly connected to community, who wants to fight for working families, we have incredible opportunity here. And Rebecca Ben is going to flip the seat.
- [03:29]
Joe Perdicone
Hopefully she actually is there.
- [03:32]
Susan DelBene
She's there. She's been on the ground working hard. And yeah, I mean, he said he's going to be back over and over. Never does. And he's a representative of the people. The people deserve transparency. There's been none of that. So not only has he been a rubber stamp for Donald Trump when he has been there, now he's not even around. Um, and with all that's going on across our country and how critical this time is, people need a representative who's going to be present and stand up for them. And that's Rebecca Bennett.
- [04:00]
Joe Perdicone
And the one of the other races that you announced this morning that you're going to be targeting is in California for Darrell Issa's seat. He's retiring, longtime Republican. He had moved districts after a loss some years ago. And now you've got a new candidate, because we just had those primaries on Tuesday, which they take a while to get certified because California is very slow. But how is that race taking shape? And generally, what's been your impression of the results from Tuesday in California?
- [04:33]
Susan DelBene
The candidate who won in that race. I won the primary. Marnie Von Wolpert. She is a San Diego City Council member, former prosecutor. Again, just a strong. Strongly connected to her community and a fighter for her community. She is. Puts us in an incredible position. This is a seat that Harris won in 2024. We absolutely know that she's running against a rubber stamp for Donald Trump that kind of describes almost all Republicans these days. But she is in a great position. Again, strong candidate, connected to her community, and yet another seat we will win. And we only need to. To take back the majority. So we've talked about two as just our great examples already.
- [05:20]
Joe Perdicone
Yeah. In California, there were a few races where some incumbents had primary challengers, and I noticed Brad Sherman looks poised to win, and he was the incumbent. He had Jake Levine, who, unlike a lot of the other primary challengers, he was actually fundraising on par with the incumbent. That's not always the case. And he doesn't look, it doesn't look like he's going to be the second place finisher. So Sherman's running away with it. Do you think results like that kind of quell the idea that there's a lot of primary challenges happening or that like they were realistic to begin with?
- [05:57]
Susan DelBene
Well, I think again, California is a top two jungle primary, so it is kind of everybody in one primary together. But, you know, we, we have strong incumbents, but we also have strong candidates running. Our focus obviously, has been on these purple districts, these districts that we can flip and any districts where we need to make sure we're defending folks who are in tough reelections. And strong showing across California. One of our frontliners, Adam Gray up in, up in the Central Valley, strong showing and these opportunities where we have the flip, like Marnie Von Wilpert down in California 48, just a great, great outpouring because people know what's at stake right now, what's at stake for our country, what's at stake for families. And they're turning up their voting because their vote is their voice. And it puts us in a strong position heading into November.
- [06:56]
Joe Perdicone
With the new map, the California 40th, I guess, got a little bit more red. That Orange county seat, were you disappointed that it's now a Republican on Republican, two incumbents, it's going to be Young Kim and Kim and Ken Calvert facing each other. Were you disappointed that it doesn't look like a Democrat's going to be challenging in that race?
- [07:16]
Susan DelBene
I think that was probably the expectation, was that there going to be two Republicans there, given the makeup of that district, and they will be battling with each other all through the general as they did. So I'm happy to have them invest money battling each other while we pick up seats across the country.
- [07:32]
Joe Perdicone
And then you've got a couple more. There's. Don Bacon is retiring. Don Bacon has been, I think, unlike a lot of other battleground districts, he's been pretty bulletproof the past decade or so that he's been in Congress. He's been a top target every time and he's won every time and now he's retiring. Do you see that as of these four, Obviously, you know, I'm not going to ask you to rank them, but do you see that as like a prime pickup now that someone with his track record is no longer going to be running?
- [08:01]
Susan DelBene
Well, this was a seat that Vice President Harris won in the presidential in 2024. So absolutely, a seat a Democrat has a strong opportunity to win. And Denise Powell, our candidate, is the person to do that. Like you said, it is an open seat now and folks are struggling. They're getting hit hard with all of the terrible policies put in place by Republicans in this administration. And she's running against yet another rubber stamp for Donald Trump. I mean, Republicans are falling over themselves to get Trump's approval. And yet these communities are struggling directly because of actions that he has taken and that Republicans in Congress have put in place that have raised prices across the country. So, Denise Powell, great opportunity. We will flip that seat, too. And in Nebraska, we talked about California, we've talked about Nebraska, we've talked about New Jersey. I think just kind of continuing to highlight that we have opportunities all across the country.
- [09:06]
Joe Perdicone
And the last one is in Florida challenging Corey Mills. What can you tell me about that race?
- [09:12]
Susan DelBene
Well, Corey Mills in Florida is just an extreme Republican who also has many ethics challenges. He's being investigated by the Ethics Committee. We have a naval aviator, just an incredibly strong candidate, Dale Bolton, who is running against him. They thought they were going to change the lines in Florida to pick up seats for Republicans. And yet here we are with an incredible candidate, opportunity to pick up a seat in Florida despite their attempts to gerrymander Florida. So Bill Dalton is great candidate running against an extremely flawed, ethically challenged candidate. And we have an opportunity to pick up a seat even in Florida.
- [09:59]
Rakuten Advertiser
Don't you wish everything was more rewarding with Rakuten? Almost everything is. You can earn cash back on those new shoes you've been wanting. You can save on the next trip you book. You can cash in on groceries. Just join, shop your favorite brands and save Target, Instacart, Expedia, Macy's, Sephora, cvs. The list is long. Save online, in store and at over 22,000 restaurants. And when it's time to redeem those rewards, get your money exactly how you want it. Choose PayPal, check built points or cash out with gift cards. Eligible American Express card members can choose to earn membership rewards points instead of cash back. Terms and conditions apply. So go ahead, take a trip, fill a cart, order dessert. Rakuten is a world of rewards. Join today for free. Go to rakuten.com or get the app that's R A K U T E
- [10:56]
Joe Perdicone
N. How are you gaming out the new map in Florida? Because California, there was a lot of advance noticed on what it would look like. Now Florida, that's really changed things really quickly. And you have someone like Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who's an incumbent, and now she's getting a lot of flack from running in a district that is a plurality of black voters. And there was some discontent over why she would run in that district. So what do you make of that race? And, you know, how do you assess backing incumbents when the lines are redrawn?
- [11:28]
Susan DelBene
So first, let's be clear. Republicans know they're losing. That's why they're trying to change maps across the country. If you're winning with the hearts and minds of the American people, then you wouldn't be running around trying to figure out how you can rig the system, change maps, because they know they're losing, and that's absolutely what they're doing in Florida. They change their map thinking that that would help them pick up seats, but they should be careful what they ask for. We have incredible incumbents running. Folks like Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Jared Moskowitz, Darren Soto and Kathy Castor. Kathy Castor, Darren Soto and Jared Moskowitz are running in swing districts. We, they are our frontliners. Those are folks in the districts that we are focused on defending and incredible candidates. They think that they changed the map to pick up seats. We're going to keep those seats. Debbie Wasserman Schultz running in a blue district. And so my focus and the DCCC's focus has been on those purple districts making sure we defend and flip seats. And of course, we talked about Val Dalton running in Florida, too. We have an opportunity to pick up a seat in Florida, but they should, again, be careful what they ask for. They thought we're going to make it harder, but we know we have these incredible folks running and they're going to keep those seats and we're going to gain seats in Florida.
- [12:54]
Joe Perdicone
So are you formally backing Wasserman Schultz
- [12:57]
Susan DelBene
or, you know, from a dccc, you know, as a DCCC chair, our focus is on these purple districts across the country. That's where our both defense and offense. You know, Debbie has been a strong leader for her community and has been a strong leader in Congress, and she's going to be a strong candidate.
- [13:17]
Joe Perdicone
So is that a yes or a
- [13:18]
Susan DelBene
no or again, as the DCCC chair, my focus is on those purple districts, making sure that we reelect Jared Moskowitz and Darren Soto and Kathy Castor who are in targeted districts. They change their districts to try to uplift them to Republican seats. We're focused on making sure they win reelection. We added them to our Frontline program focused on making sure. Folks like Bill Dalton win against Corey Mills and we, we as the DCCC are not as focused on the blue districts.
- [13:50]
Joe Perdicone
And then I'll close out by asking you obviously identify all of these target districts, but there are some where, like in the event of a wave election, you could take another seat. What's an area or a district that is, I guess, undercovered or isn't being looked at or maybe isn't a top priority because it's not an immediate battleground, but you think is maybe on the edge of potentially becoming a battleground if there's a big enough wave.
- [14:17]
Susan DelBene
Well, let me tell you one that is on our battleground that maybe doesn't get, you know, people don't always see, but might have heard a lot more about recently in Tennessee, we have an incredible candidate, Chas Mulder, running against Andy Ogles. Andy Ogles is not only one of the most extreme of the extreme Republicans out there, also just posted incredibly offensive statements online about the LGBTQ community. Disqualifying statements. They are things that should, you know, already be disqualifying for them, for him as a candidate. And they changed the maps to try to help them. But now he's going to have to talk to a bunch of new voters about Andy Ogles is about why he should be their member. I think they're going to see what he has to say and reject it. And there's a seat that we can pick up in Tennessee. And Chaz Mulder, again, incredible candidate.
- [15:11]
Joe Perdicone
And just a note, Andy Ogle. Andy Ogle said that he posted online that homosexuality has no place in America to mark Pride Month. He claims that he didn't post it. A staffer did and the staffer was reprimanded. You can, you know, decide to trust him, whether, how, however you feel, but that's what happened. And do you think his comments like that, is that become a bigger focus or is it like you still sticking to gases nearing $5 a gallon?
- [15:44]
Susan DelBene
Absolutely. Affordability is the number one issue, but it just shows you that's what his focus is. It's not on taking care of his community. We need folks who are actually going to focus on the needs of their community and stand up for everyone in their community. And that's Chas Mulder.
- [16:02]
Joe Perdicone
All right, thank you, DCCC Chair Susan Del Bene. It was great having you on. And if you like more videos and conversations like this, like and subscribe, follow the Bulwark on YouTube and everywhere else you get your news.
- [16:13]
Susan DelBene
Thanks, Joe.