Schwartz Tapped for DCCC Finance Chair

Rep. Allyson Schwartz keeps on moving up in the ranks of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and it’s cast doubt on her intent to run for Governor.

DCCC Chair Steve Israel announced Thursday that he was tapping her to be the national Finance Chair of the committee.

The National Journal reported the news, and the PG’s Early Returns noted its implications on the Gov 2014 picture.

Schwartz made news on the eve of the Pa. Society weekend when she hired Aubrey Montgomery, who worked as finance director for the Pa. Democratic Party during the 2012. The Democratic Congresswoman from Montgomery County then said she was considering a bid.

However, her rising star in DC may entice her to stay in Congress. She’s often listed among member who may rise into leadership when Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and her team depart.

And a national fundraising role would also explain her interest in bringing Montgomery’s fundraising prowess on board.

Schwartz served as the DCCC’s recruitment chair during the 2012 cycle, a tepidly positive year for Democrats nationally but a bad one in Pa.

She’s always been a superb fundraiser and consistently leads the Pa. delegation.

5 Responses

  1. Oh lord. From the people who brought you sure-fire winner Missa Eaton. This is gonna be terrible for Pa Dems…

  2. I wish people who claim to know about politics would take a few minutes to consider the whole situation. Anybody who knows Congresswoman Schwartz or knows anything about Pennsylvania and national politics, always has known she will not run for Governor in 2014.

    If she did run for Governor, she would not run for re-election to Congress, giving up her spot as the #2 Democrat on the House Budget Committee, her position in DCCC leadership, a significant opportunity to enter House Democratic leadership (the #1 Democrat on the Budget Committee, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, has leadership aspirations, and one of them will be the next Democrat in leadership while the other is the #1 Democrat on the Budget Committee), and a safe seat in Congress in exchange for a chance (no guarantee she would win a competitive primary–she knows it is no more than a “chance” from having lost the primary for U.S. Senate in 2000) to run against a well-funded incumbent.

    It is amazing to me that anybody believed that that was a real possibility (it is nice to be rumored for it, but that doesn’t make it serious). If Congresswoman Schwartz was seriously considering a run for Governor in 2014, she would not have been offered, nor would she have accepted, the DCCC Finance Chair post.

    Members of Congress do not hire experienced fundraisers like Aubrey Montgomery for their own safe districts (Aubrey was the fundraiser in far more competitive seats when she was far less experienced). But that doesn’t mean Congresswoman Schwartz is going to run for Governor in 2014 (see above as to why she is not) or U.S. Senate in 2016. Congresswoman Schwartz would like to run for Senate in 2016, but only if she has a clear path in the primary and Sen. Toomey looks vulnerable in the general. Otherwise, she will not give up all of those opportunities in the House.

    I hope you people will understand this position, and getting ready for possibly moving into leadership, is the reason she hired Aubrey Montgomery and has banked more than $3 million in her campaign account.

  3. I smell a Senate run in 2016 (especially if Hillary leads the ticket). She doesn’t need Aubrey for her funding for her safe congressional seat.

  4. She was in charge of recruiting last time and did a TERRIBLE job in PA! Recruited awful candidates who couldn’t fundraise. PA ended up LOSING a congressional Democratic seat and picked up zero. So now they’ve promoted her???????

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