Luján's path cleared to lead DCCC again - Politico

If re-elected, Rep. Ben Ray Luján said he plans to increase member involvement in the committee’s operations. | Getty

Rep. Ben Ray Luján is officially running to keep his spot atop the House Democrats’ campaign arm — and he's likely to do so unopposed, despite the party's poor performance in House elections this year.

As Luján on Friday announced a list of planned reforms for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, a potential rival, New York Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, said he would not seek the post after floating a possible bid a day earlier. Instead, Maloney is taking the lead on an election post-mortem report that he and Luján will present at a Democratic Caucus retreat next year.

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"I believe in my heart that he is a good person," Maloney said of his decision to challenge Luján. "He deserves to have help and support and if I can bring some expertise to that working in partnership with him, I think that's a lot better than having some big fight."

Luján is pledging to increase member involvement in the committee’s operations, including upping lawmaker-driven recruitment of Democratic candidates. The New Mexico Democrat said he’d also make the DCCC more transparent — a long-running complaint of members who say the committee staff is beholden only to leadership — and look at overhauling polling operations.

“We have honed in on critical improvements that can be made to form a more inclusive messaging strategy, the need for more member-driven recruitment, and an interest in setting up a regional structure to better tap the expertise of our members,” Luján said in a letter announcing his bid.

Luján has led the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee since 2015 but Democrats, outraged they picked up only six seats on Nov. 8, have been pointing fingers at the campaign arm and calling for big changes in how it’s operated.

His promise to change the way the committee is run could help ease simmering tensions among rank-and-file members who have long complained the DCCC only wants their fundraising dollars and then takes its cues exclusively from leadership on messaging and strategy.

The Democratic Caucus voted in favor of making the DCCC chairmanship an elected position on Thursday but it’s unclear if any members would actually have time to mount a competitive campaign against Luján, who despite a disappointing Election Day is still respected within the caucus.

The caucus election for DCCC chair is scheduled for Monday.