Another DCCC Red to Blue failure
Well, the DCCC lost another one last night.
Yet another DCCC Red to Blue candidate failed to advance to the general election as Annette Taddeo went down in flames in her South Florida primary.
Taddeo marks the latest failure in a disastrous primary season for the DCCC, which has watched its already slim chances at retaking the majority for House Democrats evaporate into nothing due to a series of embarrassing recruiting failures and primary losses for their chosen candidates. These failures have been well publicized, but just to refresh your memory:
- CA-10 – Unable to find anyone to run, Democrats are left with retread candidate Michael Eggman who already lost in this district by double digits last cycle.
- FL-26 – DCCC Red to Blue candidate Annette Taddeo lost her primary to scandal-plagued former Congressman Joe Garcia.
- MI-08 – The DCCC touted Little House on the Prairie actress Melissa Gilbert as a “top-tier” recruit. She failed to gain traction and dropped out of the race before the primary.
- NJ-03 – The DCCC’s preferred candidate lost his primary to a perennial losing candidate with $600 in cash on hand.
- NY-11 – After Rep. Dan Donovan won his special election, DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján called him a “seat-warmer” and vowed to defeat him this cycle. Luján will have to eat his words after the DCCC failed to recruit a candidate to run against Donovan, and are left with city employee Richard Reichard and his $2,599 cash on hand.
- PA-06 – The DCCC failed to field a credible challenger, and are left with candidate with neither name recognition or fundraising ability.
- PA-07 – DCCC recruit Bill Golderer lost his primary by 50-points to a candidate with $17,000 in cash on hand.
- VA-02 – DCCC recruiting stalled yet again, leaving Democrats with a candidate who has run unsuccessfully in four city council elections and has raised no money for her congressional campaign.
- WA-08 – The DCCC’s recruit lost her primary to a candidate who had suspended his campaign weeks before the primary, and vowed to neither raise money nor campaign in the general election.
- WV-02 – Yet another DCCC primary loss, as DCCC Red to Blue candidate Cory Simpson went down in flames.
But these recruiting failures are just the tip of the iceberg. Across the country Democrats have failed to recruit viable candidates in those theoretically competitive seats they would need to win to have any shot at reclaiming the majority. Better luck next time, DCCC!