Races heat up for House leadership posts

The Big Three in the House Democratic Caucus — Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (Md.) and Majority Whip James Clyburn (S.C.) — are expected to cruise to reelection in the caucus, keeping the top leadership team intact for another two years.

But with less than eight weeks until the Nov. 3 elections, ambitious Democrats have started making calls and jockeying for the other leadership slots seen as stepping stones to more high-profile jobs.

“Seems the list of people running is longer than those not running,” joked one House Democratic lawmaker. “Suffice to say it is very active.”

Closed-door leadership elections will take place shortly after the general election. Here is the state of play.

Assistant Speaker

With Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) poised to win a promotion to the Senate this fall, his impending departure has set off a competitive three-way scramble to fill his leadership post.

Reps. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Tony Cardenas (D-Calif.) have already thrown their hats in the ring; Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), who’s been making calls to shore up support, is expected to join them.

All three lawmakers have their strengths, and people tracking the race say there is no clear front-runner at the moment. As head of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), Cicilline has experience at the leadership table and played a key role in shaping the party’s messaging against the Trump White House. He’s also co-chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus and the top openly gay Democrat on Pelosi’s leadership team.

But either a Cardenas or Clark victory would satisfy factions who have been clamoring for a woman or a Hispanic American to fill one of the open top leadership posts. Cardenas has run the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) BOLD PAC, raising millions for Democrats and growing the membership of the CHC.

Clark, the House Democratic Caucus’s vice chair, is the highest-ranking woman in leadership after Pelosi. She’s a proven fundraiser as well and has been building bridges with minority and female Democrats, who will be instrumental in choosing the next assistant Speaker.

Democratic caucus vice chair

Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), seen by many to be the heir apparent to Pelosi, is staying put in his job managing the 232-member caucus. But with his deputy, Clark, looking to move up the ladder, a handful of rank-and-file Democrats are eyeing the vice chairman job.

At least three lawmakers — Reps. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) and Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) — have started making calls to colleagues about the vice chair job, sources said. Aguilar, a chief deputy whip and member of the Hispanic Caucus elected in 2014, was defeated by Clark two years ago in the race for vice chair. But he could see an edge if Cardenas loses his assistant Speaker’s race and Democrats want to ensure the CHC has a seat at the table.

“If Cardenas loses, Pete Aguilar would be the only Hispanic person running for leadership,” one Democratic source noted.

Kelly, who won a 2013 special election, is a popular member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and respected by colleagues. She served with former President Obama in the Illinois statehouse and is co-chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.

Haaland, the former New Mexico Democratic Party chair, made history in 2018 when she became one of the first two female Native Americans elected to Congress, along with Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.).

Democratic Policy and Communications Committee chair

With Cicilline looking for a promotion, his three deputies — DPCC co-Chairs Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) — are all vying to become head of the Democrats’ policy and messaging operation.

Until the last Congress, the DPCC had operated with three co-equal chairs, but Pelosi created the top post for Cicilline to avert a competitive race between two of her allies, Cicilline and Luján, for the assistant Speaker job.

Dingell is a close Pelosi ally who won the seat of her husband, the late Rep. John Dingell, in 2014. Lieu, elected to Congress that same year, would bring a strong Asian American voice to the table; he’s earned a national following by taking daily jabs at President Trump on his favorite social media platform: Twitter. Cartwright, who ousted Rep. Tim Holden in a 2012 Democratic primary, serves on the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

If one of the three DPCC co-chairs pulls ahead in endorsements, the others could fall back and seek reelection to their current leadership posts. But there are already a handful of rank-and-file lawmakers lining up to succeed them. Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), a CBC member and rising star of the freshman class, has been calling colleagues about running for one of the three DPCC co-chair jobs. Neguse and Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) now serve as the two freshman liaisons to Pelosi’s leadership team; Escobar is running for Hispanic Caucus chair.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair

Most Democrats expect Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) to return for another term heading the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). After a rash of staff resignations last year over complaints about the campaign arm’s diversity problems, Bustos made a string of new hires prioritizing diversity and seems to have steadied the ship and quieted her critics.

But neither she nor her team are tipping their hand as they turn their focus toward preserving their 232-198 majority this fall.

There are other variables too. If Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden defeats Trump, it could set off a game of musical chairs that could have a ripple effect in House leadership races, Democratic sources said. For example, if Biden taps Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) for a Cabinet role, Bustos, Kelly or another Illinois Democrat could be appointed to her Senate seat.   

Some sources pointed to Cardenas, a talented fundraiser, as someone who could step into the job of DCCC chair if Bustos passes on another term.

“There are a lot of wild cards,” said a Democratic aide. “Some people think [Cardenas] could be a natural pick at DCCC.”