Hispanic Caucus campaign arm endorses slate of non-Hispanic candidates

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s (CHC) campaign arm, Bold PAC, unveiled a slate of 12 non-Hispanic House endorsements on Monday.

Bold PAC primarily endorses candidates with the goal of growing the size of the CHC, but occasionally throws its support behind non-Hispanic allies. Bold PAC had raised nearly $10 million by the end of July.

The campaign arm has built political capital in recent primaries by placing winning bets on long-shot progressive primary candidates, many of whom have been ignored by the Democratic establishment, such as Ritchie Torres, a New York City Council member who is likely to fill a House seat vacated by retiring Rep. José Serrano (D-N.Y.) next year.

“While BOLD PAC is committed to electing Latino leaders to Congress, we also recognize the importance of protecting and expanding our Democratic majority in the House that has stopped the Republicans’ plan to take away health care protections from millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions,” said Bold PAC Chairman Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.) said in a statement.

On Monday the group endorsed Marie Newman, a Justice Democrats-backed candidate who beat Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-Ill.) in the reliably blue Southside Chicago district.

Bold PAC also endorsed Cameron Webb, a physician running in Virginia’s 5th District who will face Republican nominee Bob Good, who took out incumbent Rep. Denver Riggleman in the primary. An internal poll from the Webb campaign this month shows a neck and neck race in the district.

Democrats are hopeful that Webb can make headway in the district after Good, a former Liberty University staffer, unseated Riggleman after he caught flak from some voters for officiating a same-sex wedding.

Bold PAC is going after Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), a 12-term incumbent, by supporting his Democratic challenger, Kate Schroder. Schroder, a health care advocate, released an internal poll in July showing an increasingly tightening race.

The group also endorsed two Democrats seeking to replace retiring Republicans: Carolyn Bourdeaux, who won the primary to the race to replace retiring Rep. Rob Woodall (R-Ga.) and former state Rep. Deborah Ross (D), who is running to replace retiring Rep. George Holding (R-N.C.).

Bold PAC is supporting Jill Schupp, who is challenging Republican Rep. Ann Wagner in a suburban St. Louis district that favored Trump by 10 points in 2016. The group is also supporting Kai Kahele, a Democrat running to replace Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), a former presidential hopeful who announced she was retiring from Congress last year.

Bold PAC is also endorsing the following Democratic challengers: Dan Feehan, who is running to unseat Rep. Jim Hagedorn (R-Minn.); Desiree Tims, who is challenging Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio); Betsy Londrigan, who is running against Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.); Jon Hoadley, a challenger to Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Stephen Daniel, who is challenging Rep. Ron Wright (R-Texas).

“With less than 75 days until the most consequential election in our nation’s history, the stakes are high for the health and economic future of America’s families,” Cárdenas said. “We are supporting committed people who are going to join Congress to rebuild America.”

“They are going to build on the diverse Democratic majority we fought so hard to gain in 2018,” he added. “We are confident these candidates will be able to flip their districts and serve their constituents by protecting health care for families and seniors, uplifting working families, and creating an economy that works for everyone.”