The powerful center-left New Democrat Coalition voted Wednesday to elect Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) as its new chairperson, with both members campaigning on the promise to continue current chair Rep. Annie Kuster’s (D-NH) work.
The coalition, made up of 100 members prior to the 2024 election, voted for Schneider, 59-48, a source in the room confirmed.
With Kuster opting not to seek reelection, eyes were on the body to see who would take up the mantle to succeed her. The coalition is credited with pushing major legislation across the finish line under Kuster’s leadership and a history of Republican outreach on policy solutions.
The newly-elected chair will be tasked with developing winning campaign strategies — especially for frontliners and “Red to Blue” candidates in battleground districts. For the 2024 cycle, about 80% of frontliners were New Dems members, and about 93% of New Dems-endorsed candidates were part of the Red to Blue program.
Both candidates already had a foot in the door for the chairmanship: Davids currently serves as the New Dems’ vice chairwoman for new member services, while Schneider is the coalition’s vice chairman of communications.
Schneider represents Illinois’s 10th Congressional District, which was considered the state’s top battleground seat in the 2010s. Schneider defeated a frequent challenger, moderate Republican Rep. Bob Dold, in 2016 after Illinois voters mostly rejected the era of Donald Trump — and now the seat is considered solid Democrat.
A House Democrat and member of the coalition told the Washington Examiner ahead of the vote that they were confident Schneider would win the leadership race.
“It’s a huge power block now,” the Democratic lawmaker said. “Schneider is crafty and really responsive and really good at helping position members for what they want.”
Davids had campaigned on her experience in a swing district and as the sole Democratic representative in the red state of Kansas. She won her House seat in 2018 after defeating four-term incumbent Kevin Yoder, largely due to her ability to draw in independent and moderate voters.
