When Jordan Wood, a progressive running for an open congressional seat in Maine, woke up on Monday morning, his husband looked at him as if someone had just died.<\/p>\n
No one had. But while he was sleeping, Mr. Wood had missed some jarring news: An official from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had left a voice mail message with the heads-up that the group would be announcing within hours that it was endorsing Joe Baldacci, a state senator and one of his primary opponents, in the race for Maine\u2019s Second Congressional District.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m in total shock,\u201d Mr. Wood, who has raised more money than Mr. Baldacci but is trailing in some public polls, said in an interview. \u201cThey were pretty clear with me that they had no plans to weigh in on this primary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Wood\u2019s was one of eight primaries in critical and competitive districts across the country where House Democrats\u2019 campaign arm announced this week<\/a> that it was getting involved to boost a candidate as part of its \u201cred to blue\u201d program, a sign of the party\u2019s growing confidence that it is on track to win control of the House in November. Four of them were contested primaries, in which the D.C.C.C. chose one Democratic candidate over others.<\/p>\n Such endorsements, which typically translate into major fund-raising boosts, are not atypical. But this year, they have bitterly divided Democrats, who are feuding openly over the choices in a sign of deeper rifts about the party\u2019s tactics and future. Some Democrats, including prominent members of Congress, are accusing the campaign committee of being undemocratic in trying to influence the selection of candidates in contested primaries before voters have had their say.<\/p>\n The intervention is drawing unfavorable comparisons to the 2024 election cycle, when some Democrats felt the party had anointed Vice President Kamala Harris as the presidential nominee instead of allowing a competitive process to play out following President Joseph R. Biden Jr.\u2019s abrupt and late exit from the race.<\/p>\n In this case, Democratic critics say that the D.C.C.C. backed establishment-aligned candidates who it believed would not rock the boat and would support the current crop of House Democratic leaders, potentially at the expense of winning critical seats.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an extreme disconnect between party insiders who think they know best for our communities and our communities themselves,\u201d said Randy Villegas, a candidate in California\u2019s 22nd Congressional District who has the endorsement of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus\u2019s campaign arm.<\/p>\n The D.C.C.C. this week passed over Mr. Villegas and instead chose to elevate Jasmeet Bains, a doctor and assemblywoman.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is about party leadership and D.C. elites putting their thumb on the scale for who they know will bend the knee to party leadership and corporate interests,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which also supports Mr. Villegas, issued a statement on Monday criticizing the decision by the D.C.C.C. to, in their words, \u201ctip the scales\u201d in the race, and saying it should have stayed neutral.<\/p>\n Representative Linda T. S\u00e1nchez, Democrat of California and chairwoman of BOLD PAC, the political arm of the Hispanic Caucus, also said she was disappointed that the party had passed over strong Latino candidates whom the group supports. They include Mr. Villegas and Carol Obando-Derstine, a candidate in Pennsylvania\u2019s Seventh Congressional District, where the D.C.C.C. instead endorsed Bob Brooks, a retired firefighter.<\/p>\n \u201cLatino voters and candidates \u2014 like Randy and Carol \u2014 are not a small factor in the fight for the House majority, they are central to it,\u201d Ms. S\u00e1nchez said in a statement. \u201cThe Democratic Party has clearly made progress earning Latino trust, but we still have a long way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n In Arizona, House Democrats\u2019 campaign arm did endorse a Latina candidate, Marlene Gal\u00e1n-Woods, in a competitive Democratic primary to replace Representative David Schweikert, the Republican who is leaving Congress to run for governor.<\/p>\n The decision enraged Amish Shah, a doctor and former state legislator who is mounting his second run in Arizona\u2019s First Congressional District, after having won the primary in 2024 and come within a few points of defeating Mr. Schweikert. That year, Ms. Gal\u00e1n-Woods had finished third in the primary.<\/p>\n