News & Updates from the Blue Dogs

From The Washington Post, By Marianna Sotomayor | Races in the Lone Star State are among those that will be key to determining which party controls the U.S. House.

Today, the Blue Dog PAC announced its endorsement of two stand-out South Texas candidates running for Congress – Bobby Pulido (TX 15) of the Rio Grande Valley and Johnny Garcia (TX-35) in San Antonio. Bobby is a two-time Latin Grammy winner, small business owner, and father who believes in practical solutions, honest leadership, and putting people ahead of party. Johnny Garcia, a law enforcement officer and former SWAT Crisis negotiator, has dedicated his life to serving his community and will bring that same level of commitment and essential de-escalation and mediation skills to Congress.

From New York Times Opinion, By James Pogue | This essay is the fifth installment in a series on the thinkers, upstarts and ideologues battling for control of the Democratic Party. In July, Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington proposed an amendment to a bill, calling for an inquiry into what she described as a “plague in this country of headlight brightness.”

Today, the Blue Dog PAC announced its endorsement of Jamie Ager for Congress in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District. Ager is a fourth-generation farmer, business owner, and proud son of Western North Carolina who is running to bring thoughtful, locally rooted leadership to Washington.

Today, the Blue Dog PAC endorsed family physician and California State Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains for California’s 22nd Congressional District. Bains is the second endorsement in the Blue Dogs’ slate of commonsense, pragmatic candidates running for Congress in 2026. Dr. Jasmeet Bains is tough, and she’s focused on results — not politics. She’s exactly the kind of candidate who can cut through the noise and deliver for working families.

From Slow Boring, by Matthew Yglesias | I almost can’t believe that I’ve been writing Slow Boring for five years. It is, in fact, so hard to believe that I didn’t pull together any big reflective musings this year on what I’ve learned or where we are as a publication. But I think it’s fitting that the anniversary coincides with the release of our latest slate of recommendations for political donations. I wrote last week about principal-agent problems in the donor-adviser business, and one advantage I have as a writer is that anyone reading these recommendations has access to tons of information about what I think and what my values are.

WASHINGTON D.C. — The Blue Dog Coalition issued the following statement endorsing the Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act of 2025, legislation that would reverse the drastic health care cuts from Republicans' partisan budget bill and permanently extend the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits.

Today, the Blue Dog PAC proudly endorsed its first candidate of the 2026 cycle, throwing their support behind Rebecca Cooke who’s running in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District against extremist incumbent Derrick Van Orden. A sixth-generation Wisconsinite, Rebecca was raised on her family’s Eau Claire dairy farm, milking cows and showing cattle from a young age. Rebecca’s lived what small business owners, dairy farmers, and rural Americans have gone through in the last few decades, as the chaos and failed policies decided in D.C. have left too many working people without a voice in Congress. She’s a working-class American who proudly waits tables at night to pay the bills, while running for Congress during the day.

The Blue Dog Coalition issued the following statement endorsing theCutting Red Tape on Child Care Providers Act of 2025, a bipartisan bill that would prohibit states from creating barriers on the preparation of fruits and vegetables in child care facilities. The bill was introduced by Blue Dog members Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) and Rep.

This morning, the Blue Dog Coalition joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers in voting against H.R. 1, the GOP’s flawed budget reconciliation bill.The Republican majority declined to work in a bipartisan manner to bring us closer to a balanced budget and protect the services millions of Americans rely on. Rather, they used deficit spending and huge cuts to health care to fund tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy, accelerating us down a dangerous fiscal path at the expense of working Americans.

Congressman Jared Golden of Lewiston today announced his campaign for re-election to Maine’s 2nd Congressional District. “While I have considered many options for how best to continue serving the people of Maine, I have decided to run for re-election because the surest way to restore balance in Washington is for Democrats to win back the House of Representatives,” Golden said. “While the election is still 18 months away and I remain focused on my responsibilities to my constituents and my family, I also know the path to the majority runs through Maine. And I am going to do what it takes to make sure no one like Paul LePage blusters his way into Congress.”

What kind of politics would it take to restore the material and moral foundations of democratic life? Gluesenkamp Perez doesn’t offer a direct answer to that question. But the way she talks about work, ownership, obligation, and time gestures toward a different starting point—one rooted in her community’s particular needs, rather than any comprehensive ideology.

Last week, as part of National Police Week, House Blue Dogs joined leaders from across the country to recognize and honor law enforcement officers by participating in memorial events throughout the week and hosting a special reception for officers and their families.

This week, Rep. Adam Gray (CA-13), Blue Dog Coalition Whip, led a majority of the Blue Dog Coalition in authoring an op-ed in The Hill advocating for fiscal responsibility in the reconciliation process.

In an interview with political commentator and journalist Ezra Klein, Blue Dog Coalition Co-Chair Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez lays out a bold case for the forgotten middle and the need to return to localism. Representing rural Southwest Washington, Marie talks candidly about how Democrats can rebuild trust with working-class and rural voters—by listening harder, focusing on real-world results, and fighting for pragmatic, common-sense solutions.

Today, House Blue Dogs announced the hiring of Katie Phillips as executive director. Phillips previously worked as Senior Director at Federal Hall Policy Advisors, a bipartisan public policy firm.

“Our nation is on an unsustainable fiscal trajectory. Interest payments on the national debt are now our nation’s second-largest expenditure, exceeding spending on Medicare or defense this year and will reach $1 trillion next year. That, in turn, squeezes out critical investments and makes it harder for working Americans to build and exercise economic power.

Today,Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03), Blue Dog Coalition Admin Co-Chair, led a majority of theBlue Dog Coalitionin a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson calling on him to bringS.331, theHalt All Lethal Trafficking of (HALT) Fentanyl Act,to the House floor for a vote.

Today, theBlue Dog Coalitionmarked its 30th year of fighting for pragmatic policy and commonsense action. To celebrate this milestone, Coalition leadership penned an op-ed to reflect on the history of the Coalition, the present moment, and what the future holds.Their op-ed can be foundhere.

Today, Rep. Lou Correa (CA-46), Blue Dog Coalition Policy Co-Chair, led a majority of the Blue Dog Coalition in a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson and House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith calling on them to work on bipartisan, fiscally responsible policies that support Main Street as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) expiration approaches, advocating against a blanket extension and pushing for robust, bipartisan, and common-sense negotiations ahead of the budget reconciliation process.