ABOVE: Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, photo via Maloney’s Facebook page.
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), promising a re-evaluation of strategy after House Democrats experienced stinging losses in the 2020 election, was elected head of the political arm of the caucus Dec. 3, marking the first time an openly gay person was selected for the role.
The House Democratic caucus approved Maloney as the next chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee by a 119-107 vote.
“A strong Democratic majority in 2022 will be essential to our fight,” Maloney said in a statement. “I will work every day to improve our campaign operations, connect with voters across lines of difference, protect our incumbents, and expand our majority. I thank my peers for their confidence, and can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and get to work.”
Although Joe Biden was able to beat President Trump in the presidential election, House Democrats in the 2020 election lost a net of at least 11 seats, with two races still uncalled.
In an interview last week with the Washington Blade, Maloney said he wants to recreate the after-action review conducted after losses in 2016, which led to Democrats taking control of the U.S. House in 2018.
The review, Maloney said, would be similar to the analysis conducted before the mid-term election, which consisted of viewing all the quantitative data on the 2016 losses and interviewing about 200 people, including members of Congress, pollsters, and consultants.
“I mean, soup to nuts,” Maloney concluded. “The point was to develop a shared understanding among ideological perspectives, and also, to fine tune your organization. And I think the 2018 results speak for itself. So, I tend to repeat that process.”
Maloney said he’d take the lessons learned from the upcoming review and apply them to the 2022 election, when congressional districts will be redrawn in the aftermath of the 2020 Census.
House Democrats elected Maloney chair of the DCCC after more than 140 LGBTQ leaders, many affiliated with the LGBTQ Victory Fund and LGBTQ Victory Institute, submitted a joint letter to members of Congress in support of his candidacy.
Annise Parker, president of LGBTQ Victory Fund, said in a statement Maloney’s victory “enormous power,” citing attack on openly LGBTQ candidates in the 2020 election.
“Sean believes running diverse candidates makes the Democratic party more competitive and will prioritize ensuring they build on their majority with candidates that reflect the demographics of America,” Parker said. “In 2020, the National Republican Campaign Committee operationalized anti-LGBTQ rhetoric to a new level. He will be a chair who forcefully stands behind candidates who face anti-LGBTQ, racist or sexist attacks and will refuse to allow those tactics to succeed.”
