New Democrat Coalition

New Democrat Coalition
New Democrat Coalition
Chair	Derek Kilmer (WA)
Vice Chairs	Ann Kuster (NH); Scott Peters (CA); Terri Sewell (AL); Suzan DelBene (WA)
Founded	1997
Ideology	Third Way[1]; Cultural liberalism[2]
Political position	Center[3][4][5] to center-left[6][7]
National affiliation	Democratic Party
International affiliation	Alliance of Democrats; (until 2012)
Colors	Blue
Seats in House Democratic Caucus	103 / 235 [8]
Seats in the House	103 / 435
Website
	newdemocratcoalition.house.gov
	Politics of United States; Political parties; Elections;

The New Democrat Coalition is a congressional caucus within the United States Congress made up of centrist Democrats who support an agenda that it describes as "pro-economic growth," "pro-innovation" and "fiscally responsible."[9]

Entering the 116th United States Congress, the New Democrat Coalition had 103 members, making it the largest caucus in the Democratic Party and the second largest ideological caucus overall (after the Republican Study Committee).

Overview

The New Democrat Coalition was founded in 1997 by Representatives Cal Dooley (CA), Jim Moran (VA) and Timothy J. Roemer (IN) as a congressional affiliate of the avowedly "centrist" Democratic Leadership Council, whose members, including former President Bill Clinton, call themselves "New Democrats." In November 2012, the New Democrat Coalition announced the election of its new leadership team. New Dems elected Rep. Ron Kind (WI-03) as the Chair and re-elected Reps. Jim Himes (CT-04), Rick Larsen (WA-02), and Allyson Schwartz (PA-13) as Vice Chairs and added Rep. Gerry Connolly (VA-11) as a Vice Chair.[10]

The Senate New Democrat Coalition was founded in the spring of 2000 by Senators Evan Bayh (IN), Bob Graham (FL), Mary Landrieu (LA), Joe Lieberman (CT), and Blanche Lincoln (AR).[11]

The NDC has worked to craft and pass legislation, including Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) for the People's Republic of China, fast track Trade Promotion Authority, digital signatures, and H-1B visa reform and continues to work on matters such as privacy, broadband, expanding e-learning opportunities and making government more accessible and efficient through the use of technology.

Prior to the 113th Congress, the New Democrat Coalition had seven task forces, namely Critical Infrastructure and Manufacturing; Education; Energy; Financial Services; Health Care; Innovation, Competitiveness and Tax Reform; and Trade.[12] The task forces for the 113th Congress were changed to Energy chaired by Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) and Rush Holt (NJ-12), Financial Services and Retirement Security chaired by Rep. Gary Peters (MI-14), Rep. John Carney (DE-At Large) and Carolyn McCarthy (NY-04), Health chaired by Rep. Allyson Schwartz (PA-13), Bill Owens (NY-21) and Rep. Kurt Schrader (OR-05), National Security chaired by Jim Moran (VA-08), Colleen Hanabusa (HI-1) and Rep. Ron Barber (AZ-2), Tax Reform and Fiscal Responsibility chaired by Rep. Jim Himes (CT-4), Rep. Jim Cooper (TN-5) and Terri Sewell (AL-07), Tech, Education, and Entrepreneurship chaired by Rep. Gerry Connolly (VA-11), Rep. Susan Davis (CA-53) and Rep. Jared Polis (CO-02) and Trade, Critical Infrastructure and Manufacturing chaired by Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) and Cedric Richmond (LA-02).

Electoral results

House of Representatives

Election year	No. of overall seats won	No. of Democratic seats	±
2000	74 / 435	74 / 212
2002	73 / 435	73 / 205	-1
2004	74 / 435	74 / 202	+1
2006	63 / 435	63 / 233	-11
2008	59 / 435	59 / 257	-4
2010	42 / 435	42 / 193	-17
2012	53 / 435	53 / 201	+11
2014	46 / 435	46 / 188	-7
2016	61 / 435	61 / 194	+15
2018	103 / 435	103 / 235	+42

Chairs

1997–2001: Cal Dooley (CA-20), Jim Moran (VA-8), Tim Roemer (IN-3)
2001–2005: Jim Davis (FL-11), Ron Kind (WI-3), Adam Smith (WA-9)
2005–2009: Ellen Tauscher (CA-10)
2009–2013: Joe Crowley (NY-7)
2013–2017: Ron Kind (WI-3)
2017–2019: Jim Himes (CT-4)
2019–present: Derek Kilmer (WA-6)