House Democrats Back ‘Red to Blue’ Candidates in Primaries (1)

The campaign arm of House Democrats has expanded its roster of candidates it says are well-positioned to win mostly Republican districts in November.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s second bloc of “Red to Blue” candidates, announced Monday, will receive organizational and fundraising support in eight districts that the GOP is defending or that lean Republican. Democrats need a net gain of three seats to win a majority of House districts in the second midterm election of Donald Trump’s presidency.

“These candidates will win because they are authentic, independent-minded leaders who are rooted in their communities, demonstrating they have what it takes to win and fight to make life more affordable for hardworking families,” DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) said in a statement.

Some of the newest Red to Blue hopefuls are running in contested primaries against other Democrats, drawing criticism from progressive groups and candidates who are now competing against DCCC-boosted candidates. House Republicans hope to capitalize from any fractiousness in Democratic primaries.

“National Democrats stepping in will only deepen the chaos and alienate their far-left base,” Mike Marinella, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement.

Here’s a closer look at the eight candidates the DCCC added to its 2026 Red to Blue list, which now has 20 candidates. The DCCC’s final 2024 Red to Blue list included 33 candidates — 12 won the general election and 21 lost.

Arizona’s 1st District: Marlene Galán-Woods, a former broadcast journalist, is among the Democrats seeking a Scottsdale-area district that Rep. David Schweikert (R) is giving up to run for governor. Galán-Woods also ran for this seat in 2024, coming in a close third in a primary won by Amish Shah, a physician and former state representative who lost to Schweikert and is seeking the seat again.

California’s 22nd District: Jasmeet Bains, a physician and state representative, is vying to oppose Rep. David Valadao (R), whose Hispanic-majority Central Valley district was modified by mid-decade Democratic redistricting.

Bains, a center-left Democrat, faces opposition in California’s “Top 2" primary on June 2 from Randy Villegas, a school board trustee supported by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC.

“Voters, not the DCCC, should pick Democratic nominees,” seven House Democratic progressives, including Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas), said in a joint statement.

Colorado’s 5th District: Jessica Killin, an Army veteran, is facing first-term Rep. Jeff Crank (R) in a Colorado Springs district that favored Trump by 9 points in the 2024 election.

Maine’s 2nd District: This is a district Democrats are trying to hold rather than flip: Rep. Jared Golden, a centrist Blue Dog Democrat, isn’t seeking reelection in a mostly rural constituency.

The DCCC said its Red to Blue candidate, state Sen. Joe Baldacci, has a “track record of electoral overperformance” that can duplicate Golden’s success in a district that favored Trump by more than 9 points.

Baldacci, whose brother John Baldacci (D) served in the House and as Maine governor, has several opponents in the June 9 primary including Maine Auditor Matt Dunlap and former congressional aide Jordan Wood. The lone Republican candidate is ex-Gov. Paul LePage.

Dunlap, who opposed Golden in the Democratic primary before the congressman ended his reelection campaign, said in a statement that “it’s undemocratic for national establishment Democrats to put their thumb on the scale in any primary.”

Pennsylvania’s 1st District: Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie is seeking to oust Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R), whose crossover appeal in the Philadelphia suburbs has long bedeviled Democrats. Fitzpatrick began April with $7.7 million in campaign cash-on-hand compared with $604,000 for Harvie.

Pennsylvania’s 7th District: Bob Brooks, president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association, is among the Democrats vying to unseat first-term Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R) in a Lehigh Valley district about evenly divided between the parties.

Texas’ 15th District: Tejano musician Bobby Pulido is the Democratic nominee against Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R), who’s seeking a third term in a Hispanic-majority border district that’s shifted to the right in the past decade. Center-left Democratic groups and lawmakers supported Pulido in the March primary over a more liberal opponent.

Texas’ 35th District: This newly drawn district in metropolitan San Antonio is “red” in the sense it would have backed Trump by 10 points in the 2024 election, though it’s mostly composed from districts now held by Democrats. It’s one of the five Texas districts that Republicans are hoping to pick up through mid-decade redistricting, though the DCCC identifying police officer Johnny Garcia as a Red to Blue candidate is a sign Democrats will compete for this district.

Garcia, who’s also backed by the Blue Dog organization and the center-left New Democrat Coalition Action Fund, faces the more progressive Maureen Galindo in a May 26 primary runoff. The GOP runoff pits state Rep. John Lujan against Trump-endorsed Carlos De La Cruz, an Air Force veteran who is Monica De La Cruz’s brother.

Blue Dog Action, which works to elevate Democratic centrists who prioritize fiscal responsibility, praised the DCCC for adding Garcia, Pulido, Brooks, and Bains to the Red to Blue list. DelBene “made smart, strategic, tough calls, and Democrats across the country should feel good about the choices made,” the Blue Dog political organization said in a statement.