A new group called “The Bench” has been started by Democrats to help new candidates. The group says it will use money and advice to build up candidates they think are “the future” of their party.
This comes as Democrats try to win back control of the House and Senate in the coming elections. Some polls show that many people don’t like the Democratic party right now.
Normally, the party that controls the White House faces a tough time in these elections. Polls also show that President Trump’s approval numbers are not very high, partly because people are worried about rising prices.
“The Bench” says the candidates they support “can help fix our image. They can win elections and keep their seats.” The group wants to give these candidates the “tools” to run serious campaigns that offer real solutions.
The group includes people like Lis Smith and Andrew Mamo. They have been working to find and help three candidates for Senate and twelve for the House.
The Senate candidates are Mallory McMorrow from Michigan, James Talarico from Texas, and Josh Turek from Iowa.
In the House, they are backing Jamie Ager in North Carolina, Shannon Bird in Colorado, Bob Brooks in Pennsylvania, Cait Conley in New York, and Mike Cortese in Tennessee.
The group is also supporting Sam Forstag in Montana, Sarah Trone Garriott in Iowa, Matt Maasdam in Michigan, Darren McAuley in Florida, Denise Blaya Powell in Nebraska, and Bobby Pulidio in Texas.
Recently, they added Nancy Lacore in South Carolina to their list. She is a former military officer who was removed from her position by War Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“The Bench” says their candidates have different views. They claim these candidates are willing to think differently and connect with voters in places that the Democratic party has given up on.
However, Mike Marinella from the National Republican Congressional Committee said that the Democratic Party is “broken” and that they are using “radical” candidates to fix it. He added that they are too extreme for working-class people and can’t get anything done.
