From PUNCHBOWL NEWS — November 5, 2026
In the aftermath of Tuesday’s Democratic victory, the Blue Dog Coalition saw its numbers swell with incoming members. We spoke to Blue Dog PAC Chair Adam Gray (D-Calif.) to hear his take on the election and what it means for the next Congress.
The results.
The centrist group is touting that 14 Blue Dog-backed candidates are on track to win in red seats: Jamie Ager, Bob Brooks, JoAnna Mendoza, Zach Dembo, Johnny Garcia, Bobby Pulido, Zack Mullock, Mitchell Berman, Paul Barringer, Nancy Lacore, Rebecca Cooke, Sam Forstag, Jake Johnson and Eileen Laubacher.
We’ll note that AP hasn’t called the races for Mullock, Lacore, Laubacher and Johnson yet. But all these candidates are in the lead with the vast majority of the votes tallied.
Every incumbent Blue Dog Frontliner also won on Tuesday: Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.), Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) and Gray.
“It looks like a much larger majority than we might have thought, and we’re winning in places that Democrats haven’t won in a long time,” Gray told us.
Gray added he’s excited to show that the Democratic Party “isn’t just a party of the cities and the suburbs, but is a party for everybody in every state.”
Another crop of Blue Dog-backed candidates — Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), Bale Dalton, Bill Hill and Dwayne Romero — are currently trailing in races that are too close to call.
The agenda.
Gray said Democrats should “spend 80% of our time on things that 100% of the caucus agrees on.”
Gray noted his first bill in Congress was to reverse Medicaid cuts and extend the ACA premium tax credits.
“That’s a perfect example of something we ought to move on right away,” Gray said, adding it’s supported by “both Blue Dogs, progressives, and everybody in between.”
Gray said Democrats should work on bipartisan pushes for permitting reform, a minimum wage hike and immigration legislation.
“If there was a mandate from the American people, I think it’s this: Washington’s got to stop with the messaging bills and the finger-pointing, and got to actually do something,” Gray said.
The left.
Gray said he was skeptical of the progressive push for Medicare for All.
“Is Medicare for All going to get done under a Trump presidency? I think we could pretty safely say it won’t,” Gray said. “Is there room for us to put something on the president’s desk that protects healthcare, that improves healthcare, that makes sure it’s affordable and available to everyone? Absolutely. So let’s spend time on that.”
Gray said he believes in a big-tent Democratic coalition and respects the right of progressives to represent their districts.
“People deserve the right to vote and advocate in a way that their constituents want them to,” Gray said. “But they should also respect that about rural communities — about Kentucky, North Carolina and South Texas, about California’s Central Valley.”