Democrats Add 4 New Pickup Opportunities for 2026 (w/ Suzan DelBene)

Summary

The Bulwark Podcast: “Democrats Add 4 New Pickup Opportunities for 2026”

Guest: Rep. Suzan DelBene (DCCC Chair)
Host: Joe Perdicone
Date: June 4, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Joe Perdicone interviews Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), to discuss the four new House districts the Democrats are targeting for pickups in the 2026 elections. They walk through recent primary results, candidate strengths, and the importance of representation and community connection, with a focus on key battleground races in New Jersey and California.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. New Jersey’s 7th District: Tom Kane Jr.’s Mysterious Absence

• Rebecca Bennett vs. Tom Kane Jr.:

  • Rebecca Bennett, a former naval aviator, recently won the Democratic primary.
  • Incumbent Republican Tom Kane Jr. has been “missing for a couple months.”
    • He's issued statements and did a phone interview, but has not explained his absence.
    • No explicit return date has been set.

• DelBene’s strategy:

  • Plans to lean into the transparency and representation issue.
  • Emphasizes the need for a representative who is present and engaged.

  “We have an incredible candidate, Rebecca Bennett... She is a naval 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 Kane Jr., who... has not even appeared for his district, hasn't even shown up.”
  — Suzan DelBene (01:08)

  • Points out that voters are experiencing high costs (housing, food, healthcare, childcare, energy) and need active representation.
  • Ties Kane’s absence to broader Republican dysfunction and alignment with Trump.

  “There’s been none of that [transparency]. So not only has he been a rubber stamp for Donald Trump when he has been there, now he’s not even around.”
  — Suzan DelBene (02:17)

• Memorable host quip:

  “Hopefully she actually is there.”
  — Joe Perdicone (02:15)

2. California’s 48th District: Flipping a Retiring Republican Seat

• Darrell Issa’s retirement opens up the seat.

  • Democratic candidate: Marnie Von Wilpert, San Diego City Council member and former prosecutor.
  • Emphasizes Von Wilpert’s local ties and record.

  “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 in a great position.”
  — Suzan DelBene (03:19)

• District Dynamics:

  • District went for Harris in 2024.
  • Running against “a rubber stamp for Donald Trump.”
  • DelBene stresses the necessity of flipping such seats to retake the majority.

  “We only need to net three to take back the majority. So we've talked about two just as are great examples already.”
  — Suzan DelBene (03:55)

3. California Primary Fundamentals and Incumbency

• Brad Sherman’s Dominance:

  • Despite a strong primary challenger (Jake Levine), Sherman is “running away with it.”
  • Levine was notable for fundraising on par with the incumbent, unusual in primary challenges.

• Implications:

  • DelBene downplays the prevalence or seriousness of primary challenges in California.
  • Emphasizes overall party strength and voter turnout in purple and competitive districts.

  “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...”
  — Suzan DelBene (04:44)

• Key frontliner:

  • Adam Gray (Central Valley) receives strong support.

4. California’s 40th District: GOP vs. GOP After Redistricting

• Outcome:

  • New map led to a more solidly Republican district.
  • Result: Runoff between two Republican incumbents, Young Kim and Ken Calvert.

• Democratic Reaction:

  • DelBene was not disappointed; expected a GOP-only general election.
  • Sees benefit in Republicans spending resources battling each other.

  “I’m happy to have them invest money battling each other while we pick up seats across the country.”
  — Suzan DelBene (06:03)

5. Omaha’s New Opportunity: Don Bacon Retires

• Host tees up:
  • Don Bacon, seen as tough-to-beat in a “bulletproof” battleground, is retiring.
  • Sets the stage for further discussion on pickup opportunities.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Tom Kane Jr.’s Absence:
  “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.”
  — Suzan DelBene (01:08)

• On Democratic Pickup Prospects:
  “We only need to net three to take back the majority.”
  — Suzan DelBene (03:55)

• On Internal GOP Fights:
  “I’m happy to have them invest money battling each other while we pick up seats across the country.”
  — Suzan DelBene (06:03)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:13 — Introduction of Suzan DelBene and recent DCCC target announcements
• 01:08 — Discussion of Rebecca Bennett’s NJ-7 race and Tom Kane Jr.’s absence
• 02:17 — Transparency and accountability in representation
• 03:19 — California 48th: Marnie Von Wilpert’s candidacy and district dynamics
• 04:44 — The impact of California’s “jungle primary” and party strategy
• 05:43 — California 40th: Republican-on-Republican dynamics after redistricting
• 06:19 — Setting up discussion of Don Bacon’s retirement and Omaha battleground

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Tone and Takeaways

The conversation is optimistic and tactical, with DelBene emphasizing candidate quality, community connection, and strategic opportunity. The episode provides an inside look at how Democrats are approaching 2026, focusing on not just competitive districts but also on contrasting party dynamics, especially regarding GOP infighting and absenteeism.

Listeners leave with a sense of the Democratic roadmap to retaking the House, the role of strong local candidates, and the importance of presence and accountability in congressional representation.

Transcript

[A]

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 are you doing?

[B]

I'm doing well. How are you?

[A]

Good. So we've had a lot of primaries in the past few weeks. The races for November are 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 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?

[B]

We have an incredible candidate, Rebecca Bennett, who won in the primary just recently in New Jersey 7. She is a naval 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, healthcare, 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.

[A]

Hopefully she actually is there.

[B]

So 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. 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.

[A]

And the one of the other races that you announced this morning that you're going to be targeting is in California for Darrel 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's very slow. But how is that race taking shape and generally, what's been your impression of the results from Tuesday in California?

[B]

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 net three to take back the majority. So we've talked about two as just are great examples already.

[A]

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?

[B]

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 the Central Valley, strong showing and these opportunities where we have to 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.

[A]

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?

[B]

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.

[A]

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.