California Democratic Reps. Salud Carbajal and Ami Bera embarked on a weekend campaigning swing through the most competitive southern California House districts. We caught up with the two former Frontliners to hear their takes on the nation’s tightest races.
Democratic energy: No surprise here: Carbajal and Bera reported seeing Democratic enthusiasm in the toss-up House races surrounding Los Angeles. Bera attributed that to former President Donald Trump.
“Trump seems to be more of a lunatic every day,” Bera said. “That is a driving issue at this stage where it really is finding those voters that haven’t cast their ballots — it’s less persuasion and more turnout.”
Preaching patience: As California lawmakers, both members are well aware that the vote-counting process in the Golden State stretches on well past Election Day.
“We know these races all take a week or two to get called,” Bera said. Bera said he was telling volunteers to be “prepared mentally for what that looks like.”
A bit of news: Bera, who put himself forward for the DCCC position in 2022, told us he has no interest in seeking the campaign role next cycle. Instead, Bera said he wants Chair Suzan DelBene to stay in the role.
“Hopefully she wants to do this again because 2026 could be a tough cycle,” Bera said of DelBene.
Of course, the next DCCC chair will be appointed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. But Bera reflected a growing sentiment among members that DelBene should stick around.
