Cárdenas announces run for House Democratic campaign arm

California Rep. Tony Cárdenas has made it official: He’s making another run to lead the Democratic House campaign arm in the lead-up to 2024.

In a letter to his colleagues Friday, Cárdenas asked for support to chair the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), a position he narrowly lost to Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) in 2020.

“When I traveled across the country this election cycle – from Nevada to Pennsylvania and down to Florida – one thing was clear: no one knows how to empower your community and win for your district the way you do, especially when given the necessary resources,” wrote Cárdenas. 

“In that spirit and understanding of the grave challenges that lie ahead as we approach a Presidential election, I humbly ask for your support to be the next Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) to fortify and expand our historically diverse Democratic Caucus for the people who are counting on us to give them hope and power.”

Rumors about Cárdenas challenging Maloney had heated up over the past week, as Democrats braced for a red wave that never materialized.

Maloney ended up losing his reelection race even as House Democrats overall had a better than expected night.

Cárdenas in his statement praised Maloney.

“No matter the outcome of this election, we defied expectations. We beat conventional wisdom, outperformed in districts everywhere, and showed that our power is with the people. I want to thank Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney for his leadership and his team for their work over the past two years, which helped us prevent a ‘red wave,’” wrote Cárdenas.

Cárdenas’s pitch comes after an election where Democrats confronted a growing GOP push in minority communities.

Though for the most part that pitch didn’t net Republicans big gains, many Democrats are concerned the party could lose ground with Black and Latino voters unless it grows its footprint in those communities.

“[Cárdenas] understands the need for us to reach out to different communities early and consistently, and making sure that people that are messaging are also folks that look like the communities they’re messaging to,” said Rep. Nanette Barragán, a California Democrat who is now backing Cárdenas, although in 2020 she endorsed neither Cárdenas nor Maloney.