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The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily liberals and centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a liberal-to-moderate approach to fiscal matters. Most members hold socially liberal views, though there is a wide array of views on such issues.

As of the 118th Congress, the New Democrat Coalition is composed of 97 members, the second largest House Democrat ideological caucus, after the Congressional Progressive Caucus.[6]

Overview

The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus within the House of Representatives founded in 1997[7] by Representatives Cal Dooley, Jim Moran, and Tim Roemer.[8]

The Coalition supported "Third Way" policies during the presidency of Bill Clinton. The Coalition consists of liberal, moderate, and centrist Democrats.[9][10] After the sharp decline of the Blue Dog Coalition in the 2010s, the New Democrat Coalition gained some of the Blue Dog Coalition's former clout by also having members from swing districts.[11][12][13]

The group is known as fiscally moderate[14][15] and pro-business. For example, the New Democrat Coalition supports free trade and the high-tech sector.[16][17] The New Democrat Coalition also supports immigration reform.[4]

Ideologically, it is positioned between the House Progressive Caucus and the Blue Dog Coalition.[18] The Coalition has been described as both socially liberal and fiscally moderate-to-conservative.[19][20]

Electoral results

House of Representatives

[21]

Election year No. of overall seats won No. of Democratic seats ±
2000
74 / 435
74 / 212
Steady
2002
73 / 435
73 / 205
Decrease1
2004
74 / 435
74 / 202
Increase1
2006
63 / 435
63 / 233
Decrease11
2008
59 / 435
59 / 257
Decrease4
2010
42 / 435
42 / 193
Decrease17
2012
53 / 435
53 / 201
Increase11
2014
46 / 435
46 / 188
Decrease7
2016
61 / 435
61 / 194
Increase15
2018
103 / 435
103 / 233
Increase42
2020
94 / 435
94 / 222
Decrease9
2022
94 / 435
94 / 213
Steady

Caucus chairs

Current caucus rules only allow for a single chair who serves a single, 2-year term. However, when the caucus began it permitted multiple chairs and 4-year terms.[22]

Leadership

As of the 118th United States Congress, the Coalition's leaders[23] are as follows:

Membership

New Democrat Coalition in the 118th United States Congress

As of August 11, 2023, the New Democrat Coalition has 98 members. Those members include 97 U.S. Representatives and one non-voting delegate of the House of Representatives.

Of those, 23 are simultaneously members of the Progressives while 5 are Blue Dogs.[24]

Alabama

Arizona

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Illinois

Indiana

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

Ohio

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Texas

Virginia

Washington

Non-voting

' Also member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus

† Also member of the Blue Dog Coalition

Campaign arm

The NewDem Action Fund, formerly known as the NewDemPAC,[25] is the campaign arm of the caucus.[26]

See also

References

  1. ^ Hood, John (December 6, 2006). "Meet the New House Centrists". National Review.
  2. ^ Stanage, Niall (March 2, 2015). "Centrist Dems ready strike against Warren wing". The Hill.
  3. ^ "United House Democrats Return to Squabbling Ways". National Journal. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Kim, Sueng Min (March 24, 2014). "House Democrats press for immigration vote". Politico. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  5. ^ "Will the Congressional Progressive Caucus become the Freedom Caucus of the left?". MinnPost. December 4, 2018.
  6. ^ "New Democrat Coalition Celebrates S wearing-In of New Dem Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan". newdemocratcoalition.house.gov. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  7. ^ Ruyle, Megan (February 26, 2013). "A new chairman at helm, New Dems seek more influence in this Congress". The Hill.
  8. ^ Heilbrunn, Jacob (November 17, 1997). "The New New Democrats" – via The New Republic.
  9. ^ Benen, Steve. "As Manchin balks at Dems' agenda, moderates have the most to lose". MSNBC.
  10. ^ "Here's what to watch in Congress and national politics in 2022 | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com.
  11. ^ "New Dems hope to be a force in 113th Congress". The Hill. November 17, 2012.
  12. ^ "Democrats: Not giving up on spending bill". Arkansas Online. December 23, 2021.
  13. ^ "House Democratic Factions All See Gains After Midterms". Roll Call. November 13, 2018.
  14. ^ Skelley, Geoffrey (December 20, 2018). "The House Will Have Just As Many Moderate Democrats As Progressives Next Year".
  15. ^ "The House passes a $2 trillion spending bill, but braces for changes in the Senate". NPR. November 19, 2021.
  16. ^ "Trade". November 19, 2021.
  17. ^ "Innovation". November 19, 2019.
  18. ^ Brooks, David (September 17, 2020). "Opinion | No, the Democrats Haven't Gone Over the Edge" – via NYTimes.com.
  19. ^ Theodore F. Sheckels, ed. (2020). The Rhetoric of the American Political Party Conventions, 1948–2016. Rowman & Littlefield.
  20. ^ Blake, Aaron (April 29, 2012). "Why the Blue Dogs' decline was inevitable". The Washington Post.
  21. ^ "25th Anniversary". New Democrat Coalition. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  22. ^ "25th Anniversary". New Democrat Coalition. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  23. ^ "Leadership". New Democrat Coalition. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  24. ^ "New Democrat Coalition Members". New Democrat Coalition. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  25. ^ Pathé, Simone (October 17, 2018). "NewDemPAC Helps Candidates Navigate Trump, Raise Money". Roll Call. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  26. ^ Schneider, Brad (August 25, 2021). "Mainstream Democrats keep winning — let's not stop now". The Hill. Retrieved October 13, 2023.

External links