Inside Kuster’s final stand to flip the House.
As Published in National Journal
By James Downs
Fresh off a victory in the bitter OR-05 primary, New Democrat Coalition Chairwoman Annie Kuster isn’t letting her foot off the gas, even as her time as an elected official draws to a close.
She’s retiring at the end of the term, and she told Hotline she’s devoting her waning days as a member of Congress to help flip the House. New Democrats, as Hotline has previously reported, pledged to beef up their political operation for the 2024 cycle.
“I got so caught up in this project with the New Dems Action Fund and traveling the country raising resources and recruiting candidates that I didn’t want to put my own seat at risk,” Kuster said.
Her first victory was helping Oregon state Rep. Janelle Bynum (D) defeat 2022 nominee Jamie McLeod-Skinner (D) in the bitter primary to take on Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR 5). The more moderate Bynum rallied support from the New Democrat Coalition and the DCCC to win the nomination in the district that President Biden carried by 9 points.
Kuster lauded Bynum, a state legislator and entrepreneur who walloped McLeod-Skinner in a rebuke of progressivism. Kuster and other D.C. Democrats feared McLeod-Skinner’s more liberal track record would risk losing a must-win seat. “[Bynum] has a proven track record of bringing people together to get the job done, and that’s the model that typically New Dems follow for winning in these tough districts.”
They went to bat for then-Rep. Kurt Schrader against McLeod-Skinner in 2022 but won in three other Democratic primaries where the candidate went on to win in November.
Kuster made sure Democrats wouldn’t strike out swinging twice in the same game.
“It’s just a better profile for winning in November,” Kuster said of the New Democrat ideology, “than a far-left profile that is not appealing to different types of voters.”
She said that voters are turned off by the extremes on both sides of the party and that the New Dems “pragmatic” candidates can win in swing districts. New Dems, Kuster says, are not afraid to talk about jobs, the economy, and business development.
“You’re getting more heat than light” in some congressional circles, she mused.
In Kuster’s last stand, she promised to put her “heart and soul” into winning seats for Democrats. Her coalition is 1-0 in competitive races this cycle, but they’re likely just getting started.
She pointed to Michigan state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D) as a top-tier candidate in the race to replace retiring Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI 08) in a crowded Democratic primary. New Dems could look to the Flint-area seat to help push her across the finish line, as they did with Bynum.
It’s all with one goal in mind, Kuster said, now that she doesn't have to worry about her own reelection.
“My North Star is Speaker Hakeem Jeffries.”