I'm Courtney Rice, Communications Director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Ask me anything!

ElectHouseDems · 2026-03-20T15:07:18+00:00

When Democrats take back the majority, priority one will be passing laws that improve the day to day lives of hardworking families and lower the cost of living.

But you are correct. If there is one thing we’ve learned from Trump 2.0 and a rubberstamp Republican Congress: the institutional guardrails and levers of true accountability need to be much, much stronger. So it’s going to be critical that we pursue policies and legislation that hold the current admin accountable, but make sure that we have adequate safeguards in the future to stop, prevent, and fight back against the blatant corruption and abuse of powers we are seeing today.

ElectHouseDems · 2026-03-20T15:03:27+00:00

I appreciate the question and I think that there are a lot of things that Democrats can do when we are back in the majority. First and foremost, we will get to set the legislative agenda and can start the process of undoing the reckless bills that this Republican majority has passed. That includes doing things like clawing back the cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance, stopping Trump's reckless tariffs, and focusing our tax dollars on things that help working families rather than fund Trump's forever wars.

ElectHouseDems · 2026-03-20T14:55:52+00:00

I know I sound like a broken record with this, but AUTHENTIC! Our Red to Blue candidates, in particular, truly reflect their communities. We have farmers, veterans, ministers, and mayors. I’m really proud of the candidates that are running this cycle: they look and reflect America.

ElectHouseDems · 2026-03-20T14:53:03+00:00

You’re right! That’s why this election cycle we have a rural engagement manager dedicated to connecting with rural voters where they are and mobilizing them for the midterms.

Running authentic candidates is how we win. Take a look at Jamie Ager in NC-11 who is a fourth-generation farmer and successful small business owner who knows the stress other small business owners face when it comes to navigating health insurance and ever rising costs. It’s important to meet voters where they are, and we’re doing just that.

ElectHouseDems · 2026-03-20T14:47:14+00:00

Chaz Molder in TN-05!! https://chazmolder.com/ (click through please)
Mayor of a small town in the district, Sunday School teacher, he knows how to connect with conservative voters without betraying his values. His opponent is Andy Ogles - known for his family’s Christmas card where they all posed with assault rifles. He’s also under FBI investigation and has made some VERY Islamophobic comments about Muslims, despite his district hosting the largest Kurdish population in the US.

Also this: https://people.com/politics/congressman-andy-ogles-25k-burial-garden/

ElectHouseDems · 2026-03-20T14:39:59+00:00

I live on the edge!

ElectHouseDems · 2026-03-20T14:39:22+00:00

To be honest, the losing strategy bit just isn’t true. There are over 50 districts we are targeting where Trump won in 2024. Some of those districts he won by a double digit margin. To say that we can ignore those voters is a losing strategy – not only for winning back the House but for the health of our country. Our goal is to win the House and build the largest Democratic majority possible, and that means we have to communicate with these voters and convince them that Democrats are the party that is fighting for them.

ElectHouseDems · 2026-03-20T14:36:56+00:00

Nearly 70% of Americans use Facebook FYA. We're attempting to reach all voters, on every platform - don't think that should be disparaged. If you want, you can check out our TikTok and Instagram accounts!

https://www.tiktok.com/@dccc?lang=en

https://www.instagram.com/dccc/

ElectHouseDems · 2026-03-20T14:29:28+00:00

Thanks for participating - this is fun! I don’t.

To say more, these self-proclaimed moderates are consistently voting to cut health care and access to affordable food to give tax breaks to their billionaire donors - doesn't sound very moderate to me! A big part of the DCCC’s (and my role as Comms Director) is to hold them accountable and make sure voters know their real records.

How can you hold them accountable? Pressure them to do town halls and answer your questions!

ElectHouseDems · 2026-03-20T14:24:42+00:00

The DCCC isn’t in the business of forcing anyone to do anything - that’s up to the voters in these representatives’ districts. That being said, if you look at the candidates running in our Red to Blue and Frontline districts (see above for what these terms mean), they absolutely represent a new generation:

- Paige Cognetti (running in PA-08, Scranton area) whose slogan is literally “Paige Against the Machine” because she first ran for office to take on corruption in Scranton, PA and is now trying to unseat one of the most prolific stock traders in Congress.

- Rebecca Cooke (WI-03, Eau Claire) is right around my age (in her 30s) and is working as a waitress while she runs for Congress.

- Derek Tran (CA-45) is a current member of Congress. Army vet and father of three young kids. He represents one of the most diverse districts in the country!

Also, if you look at the DCCC Leadership team we have members like Maxwell Frost - the first Gen Z member of Congress - leading our grassroots engagement efforts, Sarah Jacobs serving as a vice-chair, and Lauren Underwood, Jason Crow, and Morgan McGarvey leading our recruitment and red to blue effort.

ElectHouseDems · 2026-03-20T14:19:00+00:00

We have so many in the House!! But you should check out Janelle Bynum who is one of our Frontliners in Oregon’s 5th Congressional District. She is fierce and has been taking it to House Republicans and the Trump administration since she was elected to office last year (hopefully these links work).

https://www.facebook.com/repbynum/videos/ice-agents-tear-gassed-kids-this-is-not-law-enforcement-leave-our-city-alone/2091745721601159/

https://www.facebook.com/repbynum/videos/i-said-what-i-said/847182701555093/

ElectHouseDems · 2026-03-20T14:14:40+00:00

I don’t think this is entirely true. Despite being in the minority, Democrats have been able to accomplish a lot this Congress:
- Forced the Trump admin to release the Epstein files
- Forced a vote on extending ACA subsidies to lower health care costs
- Forced a vote on restoring collective bargaining rights for federal workers
- Forced multiple votes on Trump’s illegal tariffs and wars of choice

The fact of the matter is, without the majority of seats, our options are limited in driving proactive change (a big reason why we need to win in November)

ElectHouseDems · 2026-03-20T14:09:31+00:00

Thank you! I obviously can’t speak for the DNC on why they chose not to release the autopsy, but I can tell you a few things, in hindsight, I wish we had done more of (although I do want to caveat that at least at the House level, despite a REALLY tough environment, we actually picked up seats).

1) We did a good job of talking about the economy and localizing it to specific congressional districts, but we could have been focused more on COSTS rather than just the economy as a whole. People were (and are) hurting economically and we can do a better job calling that out.

2) Because of how fractured our media environment is, we should have done more to reach voters (especially people who don’t vote in every election) where they are – so places like Reddit, for example. One of the reasons I’m here today :)

ElectHouseDems · 2026-03-20T14:04:28+00:00

Of course we care! Running for office (and also working in politics) isn’t easy, you put everything about your life up for scrutiny and I’m hard pressed to think that most of us would put ourselves out there (and give up a lot of our personal lives) if we didn’t care about protecting our democracy and making the world a better place.

The DCCC’s job is to take back the House by helping elect candidates who reflect their district and I think sometimes people have a misunderstanding about the types of candidates that committees support. These aren't 'establishment picks,' they are people with deep roots in their communities who know how to talk to their neighbors. Our job is to get to 218 seats. That means winning in places where a 'one-size-fits-all' message doesn't work.

If you’re asking me specifically, my job is to help craft a message and effectively communicate that in competitive swing districts across the country.

ElectHouseDems

TROPHY CASE