{"id":333,"date":"2026-06-10T18:11:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T18:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=333"},"modified":"2026-06-10T18:11:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T18:11:13","slug":"dccc-backed-a-losing-candidate-and-some-democrats-are-thrilled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=333","title":{"rendered":"DCCC Backed a Losing Candidate \u2014 and Some Democrats Are Thrilled"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Some House Democrats are celebrating Randy Villegas\u2019 Democratic primary win, setting him up to face Republican Rep. David Valadao in a highly competitive race in California\u2019s Central Valley this November.<\/p>\n

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Villegas\u2019 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\u2019s 2nd Congressional District, where the DCCC-backed Maine state Sen. Joe Baldacci.<\/p>\n

Villegas defeated Jasmeet Bains, a California state assemblywoman who was backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the House Democrats\u2019 campaign operation. The AP called the race<\/u><\/span> for Villegas about a week after Election Day.<\/p>\n

The primary in Maine\u2019s 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<\/u><\/span>. Baldacci was ahead by only two percentage points.<\/p>\n

Leading up to the election, polls<\/u><\/span> 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf 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<\/i>,\u201d Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that the DCCC should save its resources for the general election,\u201d Casar continued.<\/p>\n

Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-New Jersey), a progressive who won the vacant seat left by the state\u2019s Gov. Mikie Sherrill despite not being backed by New Jersey\u2019s political establishment<\/u><\/span>, said the Maine and California races show that \u201ceveryday voters are so tired of what feels rigged and what is like predetermined, that was the case in my race.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRome is on fire, so business as usual fails the American people,\u201d Mejia added.<\/p>\n

Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Arizona), who backed Villegas in February, told NOTUS that Villegas\u2019 win \u201cmeans that, in most cases, I believe the DCCC should stay out of local races. Clearly, Randy was the best representative for that community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Villegas framed his victory as a win over the party establishment and the wealthy.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite 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,\u201d Villegas said.<\/p>\n

In a press release<\/u><\/span>, BOLD PAC, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus\u2019 campaign arm, said Villegas\u2019 win \u201cdemonstrates the power of our Latino community coming together to demand representation that reflects their lived experiences.\u201d The group was an early Villegas backer.<\/p>\n

House Democrats previously told NOTUS<\/u><\/span> they were concerned that the DCCC would back non-Hispanic candidates in majority-Hispanic districts like California\u2019s 22nd Congressional District, which has an over 74% Latino population.<\/p>\n

In a statement to NOTUS, DCCC executive director Julie Merz did not directly weigh in on specific races, but said the committee focuses on \u201csupporting top-tier candidates\u201d who can flip districts in November. \u201cStrong 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,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Merz did not explain the DCCC\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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Generally,the DCCC does not interfere in Democratic primaries, though it has<\/u><\/span> in the past<\/u><\/span>, and last November, DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene (D-Washington) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries did not rule out<\/u><\/span> getting involved in battleground district primaries. In May, the DCCC added Bains to its coveted \u201cRed to Blue\u201d program<\/u><\/span>, exposing her to more fundraising opportunities and organizational resources.<\/p>\n

The DCCC\u2019s initial choice to pass on Villegas impacted some advocacy groups\u2019 endorsements in other races.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 8th District because \u201cof what we were seeing with the DCCC endorsement in California 22.\u201d (The DCCC has not backed any candidates in that race.)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen 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,\u201d Morales said.<\/p>\n

Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Illinois) told NOTUS on Tuesday she believes that the DCCC\u2019s \u201cbest way of saying, \u2018My bad, let me do better\u2019 is really by putting all the resources in place to make sure that Randy Villegas becomes the next congressman.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s better for them to just focus on the races once someone has been elected to go to the general, than meddling in primaries,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Indeed, on Wednesday morning, the DCCC announced it would be adding Villegas to its \u201cRed to Blue\u201d program. In a press release, the committee said it \u201cis invested in providing Villegas, a top-tier candidate, with the support needed to continue building a winning campaign.\u201d The DCCC website, which earlier in the day showed Bains as its preferred choice, was updated<\/u><\/span> to indicate its support for Villegas.<\/p>\n

\u201cRandy Villegas is a son of the Valley and has spent his career fighting for working families left behind by David Valadao\u2019s 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,\u201d DelBene said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Villegas, who previously told NOTUS<\/u><\/span> that not getting DCCC\u2019s backing was \u201ca badge of honor,\u201d said he welcomed \u201cthis vote of confidence in our campaign, our winning message, and the people of the Central Valley as we work to defeat David Valadao.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prior to the announcement that he was added to Red to Blue, the DCCC hosted \u201cRed to Blue\u201d candidates in Washington on Tuesday for a training event, and Villegas was present, according to one candidate who also attended.<\/p>\n

Frequent DCCC critics say this should serve as a lesson learned for the committee.<\/p>\n

Villegas\u2019 race was \u201can under-the-radar fight with the establishment,\u201d Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-New York), who in 2018 defeated a prominent senior House Democrat, told NOTUS, calling Villegas\u2019 upset \u201ca huge victory.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes the establishment, they\u2019ll 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,\u201d Ocasio Cortez added.<\/p>\n

Read more Two House Republicans Will Face Off for California\u2019s 40th District<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lawmakers say California race shows risks of wading into House primaries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":332,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2028-election"],"yoast_head":"\nDCCC Backed a Losing Candidate \u2014 and Some Democrats Are Thrilled - Modern Home Journals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=333\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DCCC Backed a Losing Candidate \u2014 and Some Democrats Are Thrilled - Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lawmakers say California race shows risks of wading into House primaries.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=333\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-10T18:11:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=333#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=333\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"headline\":\"DCCC Backed a Losing Candidate \u2014 and Some Democrats Are Thrilled\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-10T18:11:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=333\"},\"wordCount\":1203,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=333#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d9cd556d352a0b86d85a60e4c0853431-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"2028 Election\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=333#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=333\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=333\",\"name\":\"DCCC Backed a Losing Candidate \u2014 and Some Democrats Are Thrilled - Modern Home Journals\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=333#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=333#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d9cd556d352a0b86d85a60e4c0853431-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-10T18:11:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=333#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=333\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=333#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d9cd556d352a0b86d85a60e4c0853431-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d9cd556d352a0b86d85a60e4c0853431-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1706,\"caption\":\"UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 20: Rep. 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