LEESBURG, Va. — It’s only been a couple months of Trump 2.0, but DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene (Wash.) already sees the president’s moves – from drastic DOGE cuts to bigtime tariffs – putting more House seats in play for Democrats.
We sat down with DelBene during House Democrats’ annual retreat to talk about the path to the House majority in 2026. Midterm elections usually see the House flip away from the president’s party, so Democrats have the edge. Still, taking the House will be a critical test after a bruising 2024 cycle for the party.
Let’s get into the key things DelBene told us.
On Florida and New York specials: Three Republicans – Reps. Elise Stefanik (N.Y.), Mike Waltz (Fla.) and Matt Gaetz (Fla.) – who departed for Trump administration roles are teeing up special elections in Florida and New York. They’re all red seats, a challenge that DelBene acknowledged. But she didn’t rule out some surprises, saying these are “unusual times” as some Republicans face tough town halls with constituents angry about DOGE’s cuts.
Here’s DelBene:
“If folks are frustrated, they’re going to be showing up and voting differently than they have before. And so I don’t think you can always say that the past is necessarily predictive of what we’re going to see in some of these districts going forward given how extreme and how out of touch the president and Republicans have been with working families and even with some of the folks who voted for them.”
Dems’ top targets: DelBene said Democrats have opportunities to flip seats in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Arizona.
But she believes the list will grow. DelBene said “more and more” districts will come into play for Democrats because Republicans are hewing to President Donald Trump and “not standing up for their districts.”
What’s different this time: We also asked the Washington Democrat what’s going to be different in the midterms. Democrats were confident about winning the House in 2024, yet fell short.
DelBene pointed to a different political environment without a presidential election in play. She also said Democrats will benefit from candidates focused on their own communities’ needs while holding Trump and House Republicans accountable for massive government restructuring.
“It’s only been a couple months and we’ve seen the damage that Republicans have done already,” DelBene said. “We’re going to continue to hold them accountable for their promises that they’ve broken, and for the damage they’ve done for working families.”
On the core 2026 message: When it comes to the main issue that’s going to define the 2026 cycle, DelBene said affordability and high costs will be the biggest factors once again.
“The main issue in terms of making sure that families feel like they can thrive, get ahead: Affordability, costs and addressing costs for American people,” DelBene said. “Top issue last cycle. Absolutely will be a top issue again as we head into 2026.”
