The DCCC’s Struggles

The DCCC is a disorganized mess. Look no further than its senior leadership team, with multiple members publicly claiming they have no idea about upcoming competitive special elections their own organization is spending money to contest.

Today, Roll Call reported that Representative Lois Frankel, a member of DCCC leadership, asked “Who is Archie Parnell?” in response to a reporter’s question. (Archie Parnell is the Democrats’ candidate on the ballot in South Carolina’s Fifth District special election today.)

Other DCCC leaders echoed Frankel’s comments. Representative Cheri Bustos said she had not been following the race. Representative Dan Kildee said: “I honestly have not been tracking it as closely.”

Earlier this year, the DCCC’s national mobilization chair, Representative Jim Clyburn, didn’t even realize that there was a special election occurring in Montana just weeks later.

If the DCCC wants to make big promises about putting the House in play, they should probably get their own senior leadership team up to speed about competitive elections that could make the difference in the battle for the majority.