Next year, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House speaker, faces a spirited primary challenge from Saikat Chakrabarti, a onetime top aide to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., has drawn primary opposition in his district from volunteer firefighter Harry Jarin.
Pelosi is 85, and Hoyer is 86. These challengers, both in their 30s, have considerable funding for their campaigns.
But the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee does not sound worried about Pelosi’s or Hoyer’s opponents within the party.
“The DCCC’s has been on making sure we take back our majority,” Rep. Suzan DelBene, D.-Wash., told Newsmax on Wednesday morning. “Our primary focus has been on these purple districts across the country — both our front-liners who are incumbents and in the toughest reelections and in the places where we think we have opportunities to flip districts — those 35 districts across the map.”
“That absolutely is our focus, to pick up the three-plus seats we need be in a strong positions,” she emphasized, not mentioning the primary races against Pelosi and Hoyer.
Suggesting that the primary opposition to the two House veterans may not be as serious as some media reports suggest, DelBene said: “We also have a lot of really strong incumbents who who are in a strong position to run their elections and many members of our caucus who will stand up and support folks. So every district, every race across the country is different.”
The DCCC chief added that “we know we have strong incumbents who have strong connections in their communities and voters know to stand up for them and vote for them.”
Pressed by Newsmax as to whether the DCCC would support Pelosi and Hoyer in their respective primary races, DelBene replied: “Again, our caucus is standing up and backing Members across the country and our focus is on these purple districts across the country.”
DelBene spoke at a Washington press breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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