CANDIDATES STILL MATTER: DCCC Throws Morgan Carroll Under the Bus

Today’s Washington Post asks the question – should Democrats just write some districts off? Meaning – are some districts simply unwinnable for Democrats no matter the investment?  Mike Coffman secured an eight-point victory against Morgan Carroll, for example. He’s beat back every opponent handily since it was redrawn as a competitive district. Should Democrats write off Colorado’s Sixth Congressional District? The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee offered a blistering response, “Candidates still matter.”

Ouch.

While we thought Carroll was a terrible candidate, we never expected the DCCC, which once touted Carroll as a top candidate, say it out loud. Here’s a snapshot in the National Journal from last May about Carroll’s candidacy:

“Coff­man’s latest chal­lenger is state Sen. Mor­gan Car­roll, a long­time Au­rora res­id­ent, whose le­gis­lat­ive dis­trict falls al­most com­pletely with­in the con­gres­sion­al dis­trict. A former state Sen­ate pres­id­ent, she was a top re­cruit of the Demo­crat­ic Con­gres­sion­al Cam­paign Com­mit­tee, which is in­tent on en­sur­ing that this is not a re­play of the past two cycles. (the Peak’s emphasis)

‘She had a repu­ta­tion as Sen­ate pres­id­ent as some­body who could pull people to­geth­er,’ said Demo­crat­ic Rep. Di­ana De­Gette, who helped re­cruit Car­roll. ‘Both her caucus and she worked across the aisle.'”

First of all, Carroll was one of the most partisan, divisive, and vindictive members of Democratic leadership in the State Senate, so it’s laughable that DeGette would say Carroll could bring people together. Of course, DeGette has been living in a partisan bubble herself for the past 20 years, so she has no clue what “pull[ing] people together” actually means.

Beyond Carroll’s inability to be a relatable human being, word on the campaign trail was that she was lazy and refused to go to non-partisan events, where independent voters she needed were, like her Democratic predecessors.

That said, if this is how the DCCC treats its candidates, who put their lives on hold to be scrutinized in the least flattering of ways, it’s no wonder Democrats have a shallow bench of candidates and geriatric leadership. Who wants to be kicked when they’re already down?