DCCC Moves To Sabotage Progressive Candidates In Minnesota For Two Wealthy New Dems

Jeff Erdmann and Adam Jennings, the 2 Minnesota progressives the DCCC is trying to tank

The Minnesota primary isn't until August 14 this year. But the DCCC isn't waiting. They've already endorsed two conservative candidates from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party, New Dems Angie Craig (MN-02) and Dean Phillips (MN-03). Both have normal Democrats competing in the primary but Pelosi, Hoyer, Crowley and Lujan are insisting on picking their own right-of-center candidates instead of waiting for Minnesota voters to nominate candidates. Jeff Erdmann is the progressive in MN-02 the DCCC is working to sabotage and Adam Jennings is the progressive running in the MN-03 primary. Erdmann and Jennings are both independent-minded progressives advocating Medicare-for-All, while Craig and Phillips are garden variety centrists who speak vaguely about healthcare and will do whatever they are told by party bosses in DC.

MN-02 (south of the Twin Cities) is one of the most evenly matched and competitive districts in the country. The PVI is R+2. Obama won it very narrowly, both times-- and by less than 300 votes out of over 360,000 in 2012-- while Trump squeezed by Hillary by 0.2% in 2016. Incumbent Jason Lewis beat Angie Craig 173,970 (47%) to 167,315 (45.2%).

MN-03 (west of Minneapolis) is bluer. Obama won by bigger margins both times and Hillary beat Trump 50.8% to 41.4%. The PVI is D+1. The DCCC put up a weak, uninspiring EMILY's List candidate, Terri Bonoff, who did miserably-- 169,243 votes (43%) to Erik Paulsen's 223,077 (56.7%). Dean Phillips is just like her, which is the only kind of candidate the DCCC is ever comfortable with-- the reason they've lost dozens and dozens of seats in blue districts over the last decade and the reason they can only win in wave elections.

This week Minnesota Public Radio reported that Minnesota Democrats-- like Democrats in Texas and California are furious that the DCCC is sticking its nose into the state's primaries. Jeff Erdmann and Adam Jennings have raised competitive money and are both complaining that the DCCC has it's fingers-- well, hands and feet-- on the scales for the conservative, establishment candidates. Remember, Minnesota Democrats picked Bernie in both districts. He beat Hillary 58.2% to 41.8% in MN-02 and he beat her 53.3% to 46.7% in MN-03. The DCCC doesn't give a damn that the voters in the two districts want change, not status quo. They insist on two status quo multimillionaire, middle of the road candidates.

"To feel that they need to come in and put their thumb on the scale for the candidate that has all kinds of personal wealth, you know that's frustrating that they're trying to taint the system," Erdmann said.

DCCC officials made it clear money drove their choice to back Craig, he added.

"We didn't talk anything about my background, my success as a teacher, as a coach any of the values that I hold. All they wanted to talk about was where we thought we could get money-wise."

Officials with the DCCC did not respond to numerous interview requests.

In Minnesota's 3rd District in the western suburbs, another wealthy Democrat, Dean Phillips, also won early DCCC backing.

Democrat Adam Jennings is also in the race and hoping for the chance to run against Republican U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen. Jennings said the DCCC wouldn't even speak with him.

"There is kind of an establishment big-money component to all of this, and the more I think about it the more motivated I get to run."

Jennings said the DCCC's choice to weigh in early has hurt his ability to raise money. He said potential supporters have denied him campaign contributions because national Democrats have decided to back Phillips.

The DCCC has not openly campaigned against the Minnesota Democrats it did not choose to back.

[Minnesota DFL Party Chair Ken Martin:] "Ultimately Minnesotans don't respond very well to being told what to do by folks in Washington, D.C."

The DCCC campaign activity comes after a presidential election where some Democrats accused the Democratic National Committee of favoring Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders.

Erdmann argues Washington desperately needs people like him in Congress as income inequality and corporate power are on the rise.

"This is the perfect time to have regular working-class people get elected into office," he said, "so that we can have a seat at the table and stand up for our interests and our values."

Good Candidates Don't Accept DCCC Endorsements In Primaries

Worth 10 DCCC Red to Blue Endorsements

The DCCC claims to be neutral in primaries but always puts its fingers on the scale for corrupt conservatives from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party, Blue Dogs and New Dems, never for progressives. The DCCC favors wealthy self-funders and "ex"-Republicans. They recruit them and back them and help them disadvantage candidates from working class backgrounds. Is the DCCC anti-union? They probably don't even realize it, but, of course they are. Let's take a look at a DCCC press release masquerading as reporting in yesterday's Roll Call: DCCC Names First 11 Candidates In 'Red To Blue' Program."

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is naming 11 candidates Wednesday to the first round of its Red to Blue program, which highlights strong Democratic recruits.

The list of 11 candidates, obtained first by Roll Call, includes recruits running in 10 competitive GOP-held seats and in one open seat Democrats are hoping to keep blue.

Washington Rep. Denny Heck, the chair of recruitment, and Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark, the vice chair of recruitment, will co-chair this cycle's Red to Blue program.

Being named to Red to Blue opens doors for candidates who can tout their inclusion on the list to donors. Candidates also benefit from guidance and staff resources from the DCCC, which has been in contact with all Democratic House candidates who have been willing to collaborate and communicate with the committee this year.

The DCCC evaluates candidates’ fundraising, grassroots engagement, local support, ties to the community and campaign infrastructure when deciding who makes the cut for Red to Blue.

This cycle’s first round is earlier than last cycle’s when the first 16 candidates were named in early February of the on-year. Additional rounds of Red to Blue candidates for 2018 will be rolled out more frequently and in more targeted batches than in previous election cycles.

“The House is in play in 2018 and incredible Democratic challengers are stepping up to run across the largest offensive battlefield in a decade,” DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján said in a statement. The DCCC expanded its target list last week, for a total of 91 GOP-held seats.

“These candidates have their own unique experiences rooted in these districts, but what they all have in common are records of service to their communities and our country,” Luján added.

The DCCC on Wednesday is also naming certain districts to two additional lists-- Majority Makers and True Blue.

Then they named the 11 crap candidates along with how much money they ended the third quarter with. They didn't bother to mention that most of the candidate are from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party, either Blue Dog or New Dem recruits-- or in several cases-- both. Another couple are EMILY's List recruits.

• New Dem Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-02)- $269,000
• Jason Crow (CO-06)- $393,000
• Abby Finkenauer (IA-01)- $169,000
• Blue Dog Brendan Kelly (IL-12)- $305,000
• Blue Dog Paul Davis (KS-02)- $344,000
• New Dem Elissa Slotkin (MI-08)- $377,000
• New Dem Angie Craig (MN-02)- wealthy self-funder
• Blue Dog Dan McCready (NC-09)- $700,000
• Susie Lee (NV-03)- multimillionaire self-funder
• Blue Dog Anthony Brindisi (NY-22)- $399,000
• Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06)- $662,000

Kirkpatrick is a loser and a carpetbagger from up north who the DCCC is trying to shove down the throats of southern Arizonans. She has shown in the past that she can get swept into office in a wave election-- but her GOP voting record always guarantees she's defeated in midterms when Democrats refuse to come out and vote for her. She's an NRA poster child (literally) and an all-around conservative Democrat. The DCCC is always touting fundraising as an indication of viability but two other candidates, Matt Heinz and Mary Matiella are also raising the kind of money that proves viability. We reached Mary yesterday and she told us that ""The DCCC is right about AZ-02 being a great pickup opportunity but they're wrong if they think an establishment/corporate Dem is the way to win. Southern Arizonans are a fiercely independent bunch and ultimately it's the voters, not the establishment who will decide who best represents their values." A week ago she said something similar, namely that "Polls show that voters want an authentic, relatable candidate-- someone who understands them. The DCCC wants a candidate who can raise funds. This disconnect in candidate vetting disenfranchises the voter."



There's a similar dynamic in Colorado's 6th district, where the progressive candidate, Levi Tillemann is also raising 6 figuresand inspiring grassroots woke Democrats while the aggressively UNWOKE DCCC is pushing a the same kind of candidate they see when they look in the mirror, someone who represents rich people.

Wealthy Vegas socialite-- the candidate of the casino magnates-- Susie Lee ran a terrible campaign against Ruben Kihuen last cycle. This time she moved to the open seat on the other side of town, having as little in common with the people there as she did in the 2016 campaign. That's when she spent around a million and a half dollars and got just 6,407 votes, coming in third against two grassroots candidates. But Pelosi just cannot resist those multimillionaire candidates. There are more multimillionaires claiming to be Democrats in Congress than ever before. who would have ever guessed that would be Nancy Pelosi's legacy!

We reached out to Jeff Erdmann, the non-multimillionaire in the Minnesota race where the DCCC is trying to tip the scales for Angie Craig, the candidate supported by Big Pharma lobbyists. "In a time where all the polls tell us that people think the Democratic party is for the ultra-rich," Jeff told us, "it’s disappointing that the DCCC would back an ultra-rich candidate who lobbied to suspend the medical device tax as the medical device company Medtronic was sending its headquarters overseas. This is especially troubling as they are backing a corporate elite in a primary against a teacher who’s lived in the district and south-eastern Minnesota his entire life and is running to lift up the community. It seems as if the Democratic leadership has yet to learn it’s lessons from 2016. We the people need to rise up and take back the party and that starts with supporting candidates that are working class."

Who Wants More Republican-Lite Candidates? The DCCC Has One For Minnesota

There are six counties that make up MN-02 but the vast majority of voters are in the suburbs and small towns just south of Minneapolis and St Paul in Dakota County. Obama took Dakota County both times he ran and won MN-02 both times as well. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken won those suburbs as well-- and the congressional district. But in 2003 a right-wing crackpot and ideologue, Kohn Kline, won the district and represented the area in Congress until last year, when he finally retired. The Democrats picked a wealthy self-funder Angie Craig as their candidate. She has a somewhat compelling biography and, working with a cadre of loser consultants from DCCC/EMILY's List world, ran an issues-light campaign, depending on Hillary's coattails to sweep her into office-- and a weak campaign about herself but not about the constituents. She had nothing to offer them and their families other than stories about herself and her family. Just what the DCCC and EMILY's List wants from their candidates. She put nearly a million dollars of her own money into it and outspent Republican Jason Lewis $4,012,823 to $1,020,649. But everything went wrong. First of all, Hillary had no coattails in the Twin Cities suburbs. Unlike Obama she lost. She lost to Trump! By over a point-- 46.5% to 45.3%. And Angie did even worse. She lost 173,970 (47%) to 167,315 (45.2%), despite having out-spent him 4 to 1. The DCCC spent $2,174,366 trying to help and Pelosi's PAC threw in another $759,429... all wasted.

So... guess who the DCCC wants to run again next year. Yep, Angie Craig. She sent out another anodyne letter announcing her intention to start campaigning in a few months. The letter, once again, is all about her, not about issues, not about the Minnesotans she wants to represent:

With the strong support of my wife and our four sons, I’m excited to announce that I will seek the Democratic-Farmer-Labor endorsement in Minnesota’s Second Congressional District in 2018.

We deserve a representative who is committed to listening to everyone-- even those we might disagree with-- and then work to create a level playing field for every family. That’s why I’ll spend the upcoming weeks on a listening tour of the district. Following this, I will formally kick off my campaign in the Fall.

As Democrats, we must understand better why we have lost these past elections. As I talk with voters, already it has become clearer that we must talk more about how we are going to bring back jobs to the United States and create economic opportunity for more hard-working Americans. We have to be clearer about how we will fix healthcare and acknowledge the problems with out of control costs for many families. I grew up without healthcare. There is no one who knows better if you can’t afford insurance, healthcare doesn’t exist.

I would not be making this announcement today if not for the strong support from my wife, Cheryl Greene, a former Minnesota teacher who now works with elementary schools around the country on bully prevention efforts. Our four sons, Josh, Jonas, Jacob and Isaac also have been incredibly encouraging. Our oldest three return to college in August and Isaac will be a freshman at Rosemount High School this year. I also have heard from many of you – encouraging me to make a second run. Thank you for your confidence in me. I will need your help to win.

I have been incredibly blessed in this life. I never imagined as a young girl that I would leave the trailer park I grew up in to become first a journalist, and then a healthcare leader-- much less run for the U.S. Congress. I am ready to use my experience to fight to lower health care costs and ensure families have more economic opportunities.

I humbly ask for your support to be the MN-2 DFL candidate for Congress in 2018 to ensure that Jason Lewis and Washington no longer ignore our neighbors. We must be heard. I will fight Washington to make sure this district gets what it deserves.

I would be honored to have your support. Please, follow me on Facebook to stay up to date on the listening tour and the latest news as I prepare to challenge Jason Lewis.

Yours,
Angie

She was a lobbyist for a medical devise corporation and her inspiring story didn't inspire Democrats or independents in 2016. But she's trying again. But this time she may have a problem. High school American Government Teacher and head football coach Jeff Erdmann is running for the DFL endorsement to challenge Jason Lewis. Erdmann grew up in Lewiston, in southeast Minnesota and has lived in this congressional district for the past 17 years. In radio interviews he often says he "believes in people." On his website it says, he was named the Minnesota Vikings High School Football Coach of the year in 2010, and the Marines Semper Fi Coach of the Year in 2015. Though he attributes his success to the culture of respect and valuing of each person that participates, his campaign-- as demonstrated on that website-- is as policy oriented as you'd expect from a former Berniecrat. It's probably worth mentioning that Bernie didn't just win MN-02 in the primaries-- beating Hillary 10,722 (66.3%) to 5,451 (33.7%), but that Bernie got over 3 times more votes that Señor Trumpanzee in the primaries. (Trump came in third with 3,333 votes, behind weak showings by Rubio and Cruz.)

Angie Craig likes to tell people she grew up in Arkansas, in a trailer park. Last cycle, in every chance she got, she claimed that she is an American Dream story. Climbing the corporate ladder was what she did, very successfully. I’m pretty sure the American Dream is owning a house and getting your kids though college. Lobbying for the medical device industry and reaping huge profits, maybe not as much. Craig moved to Minnesota in 2005, then moved into the district just before her run in 2013.

Jeff’s platform is transparent and extremely progressive. A "working voice for working people" is Erdmann’s tag line, as he strives for Medicare for All, Wall Street reform, political reform to get money out of politics, strengthening social security, and lifting wages for hard working Americans. Jeff is working full time during the campaign because he, "needs to put food on the table." The Erdmann campaign tweets that to change the political landscape, real working people need to run for office. Millionaires haven't been and still aren’t the answer to our problems.

Craig… well, she ran last cycle and took down her website with her stances. Now there is a Crowd Pac page where it says, "Remember, more than 53 percent of the district voted for me or the third-party candidate in 2016." Her announcement press release says she is going on a "listening tour." Which seems odd, as she was just campaigning around the district 9 months ago, yet still seems to have no idea what people are going through or need to make their lives better. A listening tour means that the candidate doesn’t have any ideas of their own, and are so removed from what people are going through, they don’t know what issues effect people on a daily basis. Which makes sense, since she admitted to lobbying to get the medical device tax removed from the Affordable Care Act, a tax that is hated by certain corporations and by Wall Street but is critical to offsetting the cost of insurance plans on the individual market.

In a 2016 debate with Jason Lewis, Angie said she supported the repeal of the Medical Device Tax, because she "saw firsthand in Minnesota that it cost Minnesota jobs." That statement about losing jobs-- a Republican Party talking point-- got a 2 Pinocchios rating in the Washington Post, and was proven inaccurate by 3 other studies. But, the DCCC, as always, is most comforttable with a Republican-lite candidate. They should stay out of the primary and let Democrats in MN-02 decide who their nominee should be.