- Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
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The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. They play a critical role in recruiting candidates, raising funds, and organizing races in districts that are expected to yield politically notable or close elections. The structure of the committee consists, essentially, of the Chairperson (who according to current Democratic Caucus rules is a fellow member of the Caucus appointed by the party leader in the House), their staff, and other Democratic members of Congress that serve in roles supporting the functions of the committee (candidate recruitment, fundraising, etc.).
The Chairperson of the DCCC is the fourth ranking position among House Democrats, after the Minority Leader, the Minority Whip and the Democratic Caucus Chairperson.
Contents
History
The DCCC was founded in 1866 as the Democratic National Congressional Committee.
Due to campaign finance reform legislation that took effect in the 2004 election cycle, the DCCC splits into two organizations a few months before each Election Day. One organization(the "Coordinated" campaign) can continue to stay in contact with the individual congressional campaigns, offering advice and suggestions to candidates and their staffs in each race. The other organization (the "Independent Expenditure" campaign), which makes independent expenditures in congressional districts on behalf of the campaigns, is not allowed to coordinate activities with the campaigns. In recent elections, the DCCC has played an expansive role in supporting Democratic candidates with independently produced TV ads and mail pieces.
Chris Van Hollen, flanked by Democratic House challengers, speaks during the second day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, in his capacity as chair of the DCCC.The position of DCCC committee chair was assumed by Rahm Emanuel after the death of the previous chair, Bob Matsui at the end of the 2004 election cycle. Emanuel led the Democratic Party's effort to capture the majority in the House of Representatives in the 2006 elections. After Emanuel's election as chairman of the Democratic Caucus, Chris Van Hollen became committee chair for the 110th Congress, and thus for the 2008 elections. He continued through the 2010 elections. For the 2012 election cycle, Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi appointed congressman Steve Israel to serve as the committee's chair.
List of Chairs
Name State Term of Service Patrick J. Kennedy RI 1999-2001 Nita Lowey NY 2001-2003 Bob Matsui CA 2003-2005 Rahm Emanuel IL 2005-2007 Chris Van Hollen MD 2007-2011 Steve Israel NY 2011- See also
- Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
- National Republican Congressional Committee
- National Republican Senatorial Committee
External links
Categories:- Democratic Party (United States) organizations
- Hill Committees
- United States politics stubs
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