We’re 21 days out from Election Day, when many of us will be laser-focused on the races that will determine whether Democrats win control of the House.
Courtney Rice has been locked in on these races for nearly four years. As Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Communications Director since 2023, few people have more insight into this year’s most closely watched House races.
This week, I connected with Courtney about why Democrats can’t afford to let attacks go unanswered, why the DCCC hired a national spokesperson to engage with content creators and podcasters, and which races she’ll be watching most closely on election night.
I’m excited to share the well-earned insights of one of the most thoughtful strategists I’ve had the pleasure of working with.
THIS IS ON BACKGROUND
6 short questions. 6 quick responses featuring the wisdom of DCCC Communications Director Courtney Rice.
Courtney, you’ve been at the DCCC for 3 out of the last 4 election cycles. What’s the most important impactful change you’ve made in how you do your job during that time that others could benefit from emulating?
Reading this, 3 out of 4 election cycles at the DCCC is CRAZY. But I can’t help it, I love House world. Each of the cycles (2020, 2024, 2026) has been very different, but I think my biggest takeaway is what worked in previous cycles - whether it’s strategy or staff structure - doesn’t always work in the current cycle and you can’t be scared to try new things just because it’s the way it’s always been done in “the building,” as we affectionately call the Committee.
A big part of the Comms Director’s role is message development and execution - across both the national and local level - and team management. Since I’ve been here, we’ve expanded the communications team to hire a more senior dedicated Hispanic Press Secretary role that interacts with campaigns across the battlefield (a first in the 2024 cycle in its current iteration) and a National Spokesperson whose role is primarily to interface with new media, whether that’s podcasts, longform YouTube shows, content creators, and the like. You’ll read this throughout my Q&A, but my fundamental comms belief is that we can’t keep our candidates in a bubble and we should take most media opportunities that come our way. Both of these roles reflect that belief.
Four dollar gas and $20 hamburgers have a lot of Republicans running scared. But is there a race that best exemplifies why strong candidates and smart ways of reaching voters are a big reason the House in play?
You mentioned burgers so I have to put a plug in for two of my favorite ads this cycle:
The DCCC ran an ad on Meta platforms and YouTube over Labor Day 2025 breaking down how much the cost of a cheeseburger has increased thanks to Republicans’ tariffs. The ad, and another one of the increased cost of beer, were targeted to men ages 18-44.
Janelle Stelson in PA-10 (ran in 2024 and overperformed the top of the ticket by nearly 4 points, and genuinely one of the best and most fun people I’ve ever met) was up on TV last month with an ad all about how GOP Congressman Scott Perry and Republicans have raised the cost of burgers.
The reason I’m mentioning both of these is because we’re not coming late to the party on rising prices being THE theme of the midterms. We’ve been leading the charge on this issue from the beginning.
To your actual question: the DCCC’s secret sauce over the past several cycles has always been the candidates we run. The through line between every candidate and every district on the DCCC’s battlefield is that they are driven by public service over self, that they are grounded in their communities and known outside of politics, and that they represent their communities.
First example that comes to mind is Jake Johnson in MN-01, running against freshman GOP Congressman Brad Finstad. Jake is a high school math teacher working in the same town in which he grew up. This district wasn’t on anyone’s list at the beginning of the cycle but, because of Jake’s doggedness and really creative ways of generating earned media, he has absolutely put the seat in play. Finstad hasn’t held a town hall since being elected and has even refused to answer reporter questions. So Jake embarked on a 21 county district town hall tour and is now driving around the district on a Receipts Tour, where voters bring their literal receipts and talk about how high costs are affecting them. And he’s even posting his town halls online, unedited. Talk about the real deal. Goes to my fundamental belief that candidates need to be going everywhere and talking to everyone.
What would surprise people about the way DCCC advises candidates on messaging and talking to voters? Has that shifted in recent years?
I think most folks think the DCCC tells candidates exactly what to say. We don’t. In reality our role is empowering candidates to speak to what is authentic to them and their districts, laying out options and potential results, and helping them think through how best to communicate whatever that is. It’s a cliche but candidates and members really do know their local communities best. One throughline through all of this is that we’ve been strategic in recommending that candidates respond when they’re getting attacked. The worst thing you can do is let an attack on air go unanswered. In previous cycles, you’d see Democrats up and down the ballot operating under the belief that they shouldn’t give these attacks any more oxygen by refuting them. It didn’t work.
We’re already starting from a solid place because our candidates are trusted, well-known and grounded in their communities. We know from electoral experience, such as the 2024 special election in NY-03 where Republicans fear-mongered on immigration and border security to attack now-Congressman Tom Suozzi. Suozzi responded to the attacks and went to camera to tell voters what he believed in – and he was elected by an 8 point margin. In Congress, Tom has followed through, launching the Democratic Border Security Task Force and co-leading bipartisan legislation to fully fund DHS and also reform ICE.
What race are you watching on election night to determine if we’re gonna have a good night?
Iowa, Virginia, and Florida will be some of the earliest indicators as to how good of a night we’ll have. I’ll be looking at the margins in IA-02 and VA-02 in particular to gauge our Democratic candidates’ margins of overperformance from 2024. IA-02 went for Trump last cycle by 10 points and the GOP House incumbent by 16 points; on paper alone, it shouldn’t be at the center of our battlefield but because of our incredible candidate Lindsay James, coupled with some pretty damning oppo on the Republican Joe Mitchell, and of course voters being pissed about rising prices, we’re running neck and neck.
VA-02 is a perennial battleground. The Democratic or Republican candidate who wins the district has, since 2008, tracked with which party controls the House Majority. That’s a big deal. With the district being home to one of the largest naval bases in the country, Trump’s reckless wars and, importantly, GOP Congressman Jen Kiggans’ votes to continue the war - and her 100% Trump voting record - which are costing lives and raising prices, will be determinative here.
And, of course, I’ll be looking for just how big of a swing across Florida we might see because of Latino dissatisfaction with Republicans’ broken promises and their failed attempt at a gerrymander.
What do you want to shout from the rooftops?
We’re going to win the majority, not just because Trump is unpopular, but because we deployed the strategies to make sure we met the moment. We had to create the environment, build the infrastructure, and recruit the candidates to take advantage of the national mood. We built a good foundation for this in 2024 when House Democrats massively overperformed the top of the ticket. Early strategic decisions like these can be the difference between winning and losing. In 2024, we were 7,309 votes away from winning back the majority.
Who else should we make time talk to?
Dan Gottlieb! Dan was the DCCC’s West Regional Press Secretary in 2024 (my first cycle as CD at the DCCC) and he’s now serving as Troy Jackson’s Comms Director up in Maine after a wild 2025 of handling comms for Colin Allred’s Senate race and the Virginia redistricting referendum - aka he knows how to roll with the punches and make the most of every situation. He’s one of the best in the business and is better at landing oppo than anyone I’ve ever worked with. Bonus is that he’s just an all around good human and colleague. One day I think we’ll all end up working for him.
Thanks for your time, Courtney.