Three-Way Democratic Race at House Agriculture Committee

Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig launched a campaign on Monday to be elected the Democratic leader on the House Agriculture Committee, joining two other candidates, California Rep. Jim Costa and Georgia Rep. David Scott, currently the ranking member. Costa and Craig say they will defend SNAP and climate funding in the new farm bill and carry a Democratic message to rural America, a weak spot for the party.

“Right now, I worry that too many rural Americans don’t trust that Democrats have their best interests at heart,” said Craig in a letter to House Democrats. “It’s my mission to work with you to change their minds.”

President-elect Trump won 64% of the vote in rural and small-town America, compared to 51% in the suburbs and 38% in cities, according to exit polling. Trump’s rural margin in the Nov. 5 election was larger than in 2016, when he took 59% of the vote.

Scott, 79, who represents an Atlanta-area district, was the first Black chairman of the Agriculture Committee, in 2020, and has the advantage of seniority, a asset in the intraparty race. House Democrats will elect committee leaders in January. Costa, 72, from the Central Valley, ran for the Agriculture chairmanship in 2020. Craig, 52, was elected to her fourth term on Nov. 5 and represents a district south of the Twin Cities.

In the past couple of years, there have been Capitol Hill whispers that Scott, with a courtly and deliberate manner, was not aggressive enough in promoting Democratic priorities at committee meetings and farm bill negotiations. Scott was being treated for back ailments and was not expected to return to Washington until next week.

“Agriculture is in my blood,” said Craig, whose Arkansas grandfather was forced off the land during the farm crisis of the 1980s. “And as a young girl growing up in a mobile home – who faced food insecurity and inconsistent access to health care at times – I know firsthand the impact agriculture policy in Congress can have on real people – and on American families.”

Craig said she was “loud and clear” in farm bill debate in opposing Republican-sponsored cuts in SNAP and loosening the rules on climate funding. She said rural Americans “want us to show up and listen” to their concerns. “That’s what we as Democrats need to do: Show up and listen. And have a presence in Ag country.”

Costa made a similar point in a letter to colleagues last week. “With the incoming return of Donald Trump to the presidency, our caucus needs a leader who will fight to protect the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), defend the historic investments we made through the Inflation Reduction Act, and bring a strong Democratic message back to rural America,” he wrote. “As a member of the committee for 20 years, I have the experience to lead Democrats as we find a path forward on passing a bipartisan farm bill, which is currently expired.”

Scott spoke repeatedly against the Republican farm bill. When the CBO said the committee-approved bill was $33 billion over budget, he said, “Republicans must return to the negotiating table and work with Democrats to craft a truly bipartisan farm bill.”

There will be some turnover in membership of the Agriculture Committee in the new session.

Two Republicans and one Democrat were defeated for re-election and one race was yet to be decided. Rep. John Duarte, California Republican, held a 204-vote lead over Democrat Adam Gray with 98% of the vote counted in their Central Valley district. In addition, Democratic Rep. Ellisa Slotkin was elected senator in Michigan and Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger left the House to run for Virginia governor.