DCCC Backed a Losing Candidate — and Some Democrats Are Thrilled

Some House Democrats are celebrating Randy Villegas’ Democratic primary win, setting him up to face Republican Rep. David Valadao in a highly competitive race in California’s Central Valley this November.

Villegas defeated Jasmeet Bains, a California state assemblywoman who was backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the House Democrats’ campaign operation. The AP called the race for Villegas about a week after Election Day.

Villegas’ win over Bains marks the first time that a DCCC pick has not advanced to the general election this cycle. His victory, members say, sends a clear message to the DCCC: Stop getting involved in Democratic primaries. This dynamic is also playing out in the Democratic primary in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, where the DCCC-backed Maine state Sen. Joe Baldacci.

The primary in Maine’s 2nd district will be decided in a ranked-choice runoff after no candidate managed to get a majority of votes in the race, according to the AP. Baldacci was ahead by only two percentage points.

Leading up to the election, polls showed Baldacci leading the Democratic field, but other Democratic candidates saw a surge of support after the DCCC announced it was backing Baldacci. In one poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire in late May, Jordan Wood, a former political operative, emerged as the top pick.

“If you have candidates that are good Democrats that are connected to the community, I think the Democratic Party and the DCCC should weigh in against Republicans,” Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said.

“I think that the DCCC should save its resources for the general election,” Casar continued.

Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-New Jersey), a progressive who won the vacant seat left by the state’s Gov. Mikie Sherrill despite not being backed by New Jersey’s political establishment, said the Maine and California races show that “everyday voters are so tired of what feels rigged and what is like predetermined, that was the case in my race.”

“Rome is on fire, so business as usual fails the American people,” Mejia added.

Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Arizona), who backed Villegas in February, told NOTUS that Villegas’ win “means that, in most cases, I believe the DCCC should stay out of local races. Clearly, Randy was the best representative for that community.”

Villegas framed his victory as a win over the party establishment and the wealthy.

“Despite the onslaught of outside corporate money spent against us, we have shown that working people are ready for change. We are ready for the government to work for us, not just the wealthy and well-connected,” Villegas said.

In a press release, BOLD PAC, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ campaign arm, said Villegas’ win “demonstrates the power of our Latino community coming together to demand representation that reflects their lived experiences.” The group was an early Villegas backer.

House Democrats previously told NOTUS they were concerned that the DCCC would back non-Hispanic candidates in majority-Hispanic districts like California’s 22nd Congressional District, which has an over 74% Latino population.

In a statement to NOTUS, DCCC executive director Julie Merz did not directly weigh in on specific races, but said the committee focuses on “supporting top-tier candidates” who can flip districts in November. “Strong nominees allow us to expand our battlefield, spread our resources to more races, and deliver Democrats the biggest majority possible. Nearly all of our Red to Blue candidates have already won their primaries,” she said.

Merz did not explain the DCCC’s reasoning behind choosing Bains over Villegas in the primary. Bains has served in the state assembly since 2022 and previously defeated Latino candidates in her majority-Hispanic district.

Generally, the DCCC does not interfere in Democratic primaries, though it has in the past, and last November, DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene (D-Washington) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries did not rule out getting involved in battleground district primaries. In May, the DCCC added Bains to its coveted “Red to Blue” program, exposing her to more fundraising opportunities and organizational resources.

The DCCC’s initial choice to pass on Villegas impacted some advocacy groups’ endorsements in other races.

Melissa Morales, the president of Somos Votantes, an organization dedicated to electing Latinos to office, told NOTUS that the group decided to back Manny Rutinel in the Democratic primary for Colorado’s 8th District because “of what we were seeing with the DCCC endorsement in California 22.” (The DCCC has not backed any candidates in that race.)

“When a qualified Latino candidate is passed over in a district where Latino voters are a decisive constituency, that sends a signal, and Latino voters feel that, and it really just feeds the frustration with the Democratic Party,” Morales said.

Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Illinois) told NOTUS on Tuesday she believes that the DCCC’s “best way of saying, ‘My bad, let me do better’ is really by putting all the resources in place to make sure that Randy Villegas becomes the next congressman.”

“It’s better for them to just focus on the races once someone has been elected to go to the general, than meddling in primaries,” she added.

Indeed, on Wednesday morning, the DCCC announced it would be adding Villegas to its “Red to Blue” program. In a press release, the committee said it “is invested in providing Villegas, a top-tier candidate, with the support needed to continue building a winning campaign.” The DCCC website, which earlier in the day showed Bains as its preferred choice, was updated to indicate its support for Villegas.

“Randy Villegas is a son of the Valley and has spent his career fighting for working families left behind by David Valadao’s failed representation, votes to gut health care, and history of selling out the Valley to his party bosses and billionaires. Randy is a people-first leader capable of energizing voters and winning this seat, and we are all in to elect him and flip this seat,” DelBene said in a statement.

Villegas, who previously told NOTUS that not getting DCCC’s backing was “a badge of honor,” said he welcomed “this vote of confidence in our campaign, our winning message, and the people of the Central Valley as we work to defeat David Valadao.”

Prior to the announcement that he was added to Red to Blue, the DCCC hosted “Red to Blue” candidates in Washington on Tuesday for a training event, and Villegas was present, according to one candidate who also attended.

Frequent DCCC critics say this should serve as a lesson learned for the committee.

Villegas’ race was “an under-the-radar fight with the establishment,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-New York), who in 2018 defeated a prominent senior House Democrat, told NOTUS, calling Villegas’ upset “a huge victory.”

“Sometimes the establishment, they’ll get involved based on very traditional metrics of what they think makes a successful candidate, and I think popular movements can show that other things can be key,” Ocasio Cortez added.