Democrats Dissect 2020 to Improve Midterm Prospects (Podcast)
Rep. Brad Schneider, chair of the NewDem Action Fund, joined Bloomberg Government’s Kyle Trygstad and Greg Giroux on the latest episode of Downballot Counts to discuss what a recent internal report on Democrats’ successes and failures in the last election mean for the 2022 midterms.
In leading the political arm of the largest ideological caucus in Congress, the New Democrat Coalition, Schneider (D-Ill.) hopes to help his party hold and expand its slim majority next year. The group, made up of 95 self-described solutions-oriented Democrats, is playing a role in major legislation before Congress.
Schneider said it’s important for members to highlight their efforts for voters throughout the two-year election cycle. That means having discussions now with base voters and those the party hopes to persuade on issues such as education, business, infrastructure, and immigration—which will help them fight off the types of GOP criticism that stuck in 2020.
“Every one of my colleagues have to convince our voters that we understand their priorities, we understand their concerns, we understand what they value most, and that’s what we’re working hardest on in Washington,” he said.
A “business-like attitude of rolling up our sleeves and accomplishing things” is one reason Schneider said his party expects success in next year’s election despite Republicans’ edge in redistricting and the historical trend of the party out of power gaining seats.
“We know it’s not going to be easy, we know there are a lot of headwinds working against us. But history doesn’t determine the future,” he said.
Listen to the latest episode of Downballot Counts
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To contact the hosts: Kyle Trygstad in Washington at ktrygstad@bgov.com; Greg Giroux in Washington at ggiroux@bgov.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Loren Duggan at lduggan@bgov.com