Few members of the Democratic Party hold as much influence as House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC). And now, he’s back out on the campaign trail, putting his thumb on the scale of some of Democrats most highly watched 2022 primaries.
He stopped in Ohio over the weekend to stump for Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH) ahead of her successful rematch against progressive activist Nina Turner. Then he popped by Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) in San Antonio, who’s facing a May 24 runoff election with progressive candidate Jessica Cisneros.
In deciding what races to get involved in, Clyburn said he’s factoring in a few things. He’s evaluating candidates’ records and whether they have been—or would be—reliable votes for the Biden agenda.
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But he’s also scoping out a more subjective factor: style.
“I look at the record and the demeanor… Style means something. Substance means everything—but style means something,” Clyburn told The Daily Beast in an interview on Sunday.
To Clyburn, style is a matter of decorum. He doesn’t like low blows or name calling. He believes in lawmakers having good manners. And though two progressive challengers are currently on the losing end of his influence, he said it’s not about pushing for more moderate lawmakers. “I’m regarded as pretty liberal by everybody except those people who seem to think that being progressive means insulting people,” he said.
“I don't want to be insulted. So, I treat people as I want to be treated. So, on style, if you’ve got to be yelling all the time and calling people names, if that’s what makes you a progressive, I ain't one,” he added. “But if it’s your voting record and the programs you support and that you propose, nobody is any more progressive than I am.”
The congressman also pointed to Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Wisconsin Senate candidate Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) as examples of progressives he supports.
While his pitch for Brown was expected, stumping for Cuellar wasn’t as obvious a play, as many of Cuellar’s traditional backers have been absent following an FBI raid on the congressman’s home in January.
Leading up to the March 1 primary, Cuellar faced a degree of political isolation. But the Department of Justice has since said he is not a target of the investigation, according to his lawyer, potentially improving his political standing.
Cuellar has also drawn ire from Democratic circles for being a part of the “unbreakable nine” pact of House Democrats that blocked passage of the Build Back Better Act until the bipartisan infrastructure bill was passed—and for being the lone House Democrat to vote against codifying Roe v. Wade into law last year.
That position has grown newly contentious after Tuesday’s news of a Supreme Court draft opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade. Cuellar defended his anti-abortion stance in a statement, arguing “abortion must be rare & safe” and noting he does support exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.
Cisneros on Wednesday called on Democratic leadership to withdraw support of the congressman.
But as of Sunday, Clyburn said he regards Cuellar, one of his deputy whips, as a reliable vote for Democrats’ priorities and appeared Wednesday by his side.
“I give him a lot of credit for the success we’ve had getting the Biden agenda done… People who are not required to agree with me on everything. He doesn't agree with me on everything. But he supplements my position,” Clyburn said.
And while progressives have at times pushed back against national figures attempting to shape the outcomes of Democratic primaries, Clyburn says his visits are like providing a reference check for the job, and to tell voters about his experience working with a given member.
“When I run for re-election, as I'm running now, I bring in people within my work in Washington to validate what I'm saying. And that's all that's going on here,” he said.
At stake in these races writ large is Democrats’ chance of keeping control in the House, which is at risk this year as the party’s agenda stalled and redistricting turned some races against their favor. Clyburn says he believes the party’s chances of keeping the House are improving—but said “whether or not we succeed depends a lot on what happens between now and Labor Day.”
“There's nothing that's given. So we’re going to work as hard as we possibly can and hopefully, hopefully, we'll succeed,” he said.
