Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
November 4, 2014

DCCC CHAIRMAN STEVE ISRAEL’S STATEMENT ON THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS

DCCC Chairman Steve Israel released the following statement on the midterm elections:

“I won’t sugarcoat it – we always knew tonight would be a challenging night, and it was for Democrats at every level. But as tough as tonight was, we did everything in our control to narrow the Republicans’ pick-up opportunities and limit their chance to take advantage of the wave. As Democrats lost the Senate and an avalanche of outside spending was directed late at the House, we protected Democrats in swing seats from Florida to Illinois to California and at least one Republican-held seat. In short, it could have been worse. Without the hard work of the members of the caucus and the DCCC, Republicans might have reached the 29 seat gain typically won in a second-term midterm.

“As a Mets fan, I’ve learned to look on the bright side – and we have a strong Democratic Caucus who will come to Congress next year focused on strengthening the middle class and working together on commonsense solutions.

“For years Republicans have been blaming President Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.  Now that they control Congress, they have no one left to blame.  It’s time for them to prove they can produce results for America’s middle class.”


November 5, 2014

MEMO: ON TOUGH NIGHT, DCCC LIMITED REPUBLICANS’ OPPORTUNITIES TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF WAVE

O:      Interested Parties
FR:      DCCC Communications
DT:      November 5, 2014
RE:      On Tough Night, DCCC Limited Republicans’ Opportunities to Take Advantage of Wave
 
In a tough cycle in which Democrats suffered significant losses in the Senate, unexpected losses in the gubernatorial races and faced a barrage of outside groups spending, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee held back Republicans’ potential gains in the House and limited their opportunity to take advantage of the wave.

The DCCC’s aggressive early preparation – including record-breaking fundraising, an unprecedented early field program and our largest-ever ad buy with creative, hard-hitting ads – together allowed us to minimize losses, save targeted incumbents and hold Republican gains below the average 29 seats that the president’s party loses in a second midterm.

No doubt it was a challenging night, but it’s clear it would have been worse without Members waging tough campaigns and the DCCC fighting alongside them in the trenches. Looking ahead to the next two years, this Republican Congress is now responsible for actually producing results for the middle class, instead of pointing the finger at Democrats.
 
Republicans Failed to Repeat 2010
Throughout the cycle, Republicans set their sights high. House Republicans began the 2014 cycle by identifying 45 Democratic targets. The Washington Post reported last week that “some Republicans privately predicted that they could snatch 25 new seats.” Republicans were so confident of success, they even talked about replicating their 2010 gains:

NRCC Executive Director Liesl Hickey Predicted “Reprise of the 2010 Midterm Elections.” “Ms. Hickey of the Republican Congressional committee predicted 2014 would be a reprise of the 2010 midterm elections, when Republicans racked up huge gains in the House by attacking the president’s health care overhaul and failed cap-and-trade plan.” [New York Times, 7/01/13]

However, the DCCC effectively prevented national Republicans from reaching the 29-seat average and boxed them out of the high-gain night they needed to lock in their majority in 2016.
 
Koch Brothers, Rove Compensate for Weak NRCC
All cycle, the NRCC struggled to take advantage of their headwinds or keep pace with the DCCC in fundraising, particularly among grassroots donors. In the early fall of 2014, Republicans publicly sounded the alarm that they needed help.

Despite the built-in advantages of the midterm cycle, House Republicans relied on outside help to get the job done. Republican outside groups spent $60 million – $18 million more than Democratic outside groups.

Especially with the barrage from their outside groups, there’s no question that the night could have been worse for Democrats, especially in swing districts that Democrats took off the board, including Bustos (IL-17), DelBene (WA-01), Kuster (NH-02), Loebsack (IA-02), Moulton (MA-06), Murphy (FL-18), Peterson (MN-07), Rice (NY-04), Ruiz (CA-36) and Sinema (AZ-09).
 
DCCC Did Everything Possible To Prepare for Election Day
Without the DCCC’s success on all the metrics within our control, the night would have been worse for House Democrats.

  • DCCC Fundraising 
“Some Republicans are frustrated that the NRCC has lagged behind the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) in fundraising despite being in the majority. The NRCC has raised about $125 million this election cycle, compared to the DCCC’s $163 million.” [The Hill, 11/2/14]
  • DCCC Raised $28.3 Million For Candidates
Not only did the DCCC excel in committee fundraising, but we also raised $28.3 million for candidates themselves, expanding their campaigns’ reach with lost-cost TV advertising and stretching our dollars even further.
  • Largest DCCC IE Presence in History
The DCCC made a $67.25 million ad buy, including $51.5 million on broadcast, $11.8 million on cable and satellite, $3.25 million in digital and $625,000 on radio. The IE burned in 250,000 gross ratings points in 39 districts – a tight focus that kept incumbents at parity against Republican outside money.
  • Creative, Breakthrough Ads
“House Democrats may be facing losses at the ballot box this fall—but the committee’s creative, out-of-the-box independent-expenditure ads, tailored to each district, are a bright spot, and something aides argue have helped move the dial in a handful of tough races.” [National Journal, 10/21/14]
  • Aggressive, Early Field – Double Previous DCCC Field Programs
“House Democrats, flush with campaign cash, have crafted an unprecedented field operation this year that has registered tens of thousands of voters — including several thousand in critical states – for the first time.” At the end of the cycle, the DCCC’s field program registered 80,000 new voters. [Washington Post, 9/25/14]
  • Unprecedented Digital Effort
“The House Democrats’ independent campaign arm has spent $3.25 million on digital advertising during the 2014 midterms, a 450-percent increase from last cycle, targeting the most persuadable voters with an online onslaught.” [PoliticoPro, 10/31/14]
 
What’s Next
Two things are now clear: Republicans are in charge and Washington will get worse. The historically low approval ratings and toxic brand of the 113th Congress will soon be eclipsed by the 114th.

Republicans are like the dog that caught the car – and now the question is whether they will govern or whether they will stick with their reckless behavior. Given the inability of this Republican Congress to compromise over the past four years, there’s not much reason for hope.

As the Washington Post reported, many new members of the Republican caucus come from safe Republican districts and “are backed by the tea party movement and will be more likely than their predecessors to oppose GOP leaders on key legislation.” With their Tea Party wing growing even larger, Speaker Boehner is already facing rumblings of mutiny and reports of conservatives balking at his post-election agenda.

House Republicans won’t be able to blame the Senate for their failures any more, and they won’t be able to help themselves from tumbling into ideological rabbit holes driven by their far right base. They’ll face a choice: crises and standoffs or finding common ground to solve problems with President Obama.

With Republican dysfunction likely reaching new heights, House Democrats will go into the presidential election year with stronger historical trends and with Republicans even further out of touch with mainstream America.