Per today’s press release from the DCCC, Joyce Elliott and Chad Causey are both listed among the latest group of candidates who have qualified for the “Red To Blue Program.”
These candidates earned a spot in the program by surpassing demanding fundraising goals and demonstrating to voters that they will work to create jobs and put the interests of their constituents ahead of the special interests in Washington.
“These candidates being named to our Red to Blue Program are running strong campaigns and demonstrating their commitment to being independent leaders who will make job creation back home their top priority,” said Chris Van Hollen, Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “The Red to Blue Program will give these strong candidates the financial and structural edge they need to win in November and become strong advocates in Congress for middle class families back in their districts.”
You can see the full release and the entire list of candidates here.
The DCCC R2B program raised $26M for its candidates in the last cycle, so there is some real money here for candidates who qualify. While I’m glad to see both Elliott and Causey on the list, the lack of David Whitaker on the list makes me wonder if the DCCC isn’t basing its decisions at least in part on which candidates are moderately likely to win.
Don’t get me wrong: I don’t think there is anything wrong with doling out cash only where you think it is most likely to help, but I kind of wish that they would be a little more open about that criterion when discussing why certain candidates were chosen. (I guess it’s possible that Whitaker just failed to surpass the “demanding fundraising goals,” though I would argue that such goals are more or less a proxy for “likelihood of success.”)