Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is already thinking about how her party can win back the majority in Congress.
DelBene is preparing for special elections in Florida and New York to replace former Republican representatives Elise Stefanik of New York and Mike Waltz and Matt Gaetz of Florida. While the districts favor Republicans, DelBene told Punchbowl News that these are "unusual times," and she wouldn't rule out surprises.
"If folks are frustrated, they're going to be showing up and voting differently than they have before," DelBene said to Punchbowl. "I don't think you can always say that the past is necessarily predictive of what we're going to see in some of these districts going forward given how extreme and how out of touch [President Donald Trump] and Republicans have been with working families and even with some of the folks who voted for them."
DelBene said, in the 2026 midterms, her party aims to flip seats in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Arizona, Punchbowl said. She said Republicans are kowtowing to Trump and not standing up to for their districts.
In 2024, Democrats were confident they were taking back the House but fell just short. DelBene said her party intends to have candidates who focus on their district while holding Trump and House Republicans accountable.
"It's only been a couple months, and we've seen the damage that Republicans have done already," DelBene told Punchbowl. "We're going to continue to hold them accountable for their promises that they've broken, and for the damage they've done for working families. The main issue in terms of making sure that families feel like they can thrive, get ahead: Affordability, costs and addressing costs for American people. Top issue last cycle. Absolutely will be a top issue again as we head into 2026."
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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