How Democrats Are Mucking Back in Red States with CJ Warnke, House Majority PAC

David Wheeler: 00:00:06

This is the American Muckrakers podcast. Muck you. I'm David Wheeler in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, here to gut the lies and spill the filthy truth.

My co host, Mo Davis is running to be the next Congress dude from NC11 coming to us live today from Asheville. Is there any other Asheville in the world other than Limited in North Carolina, I don't think.

Col Moe Davis: 00:00:25

Not that I know of.

David Wheeler: 00:00:26

All right, Moe, let's get mucking, man.

Col Moe Davis: 00:00:28

All right, welcome back everybody, and hope you're having a good day. It's kind of a cloudy, rainy, cool day here in the mountains of western North Carolina, but still there's not a better place to be.

And again, we're continuing our tradition of having great guests on to keep you informed on what's going on on a range of topics. And Today we've got C.J. warnke, who is the communications director for the House Majority PAC and House Majority Forward.

Before that he worked of both Senators Gary Peters and Amy Klobuchar, so certainly is eminently qualified to talk a little bit about politics today. So, CJ thanks for taking time to join us.

CJ Warnke: 00:01:08

Thanks for having me on. I appreciate you both taking the time today.

Col Moe Davis: 00:01:10

Oh, sure.

Well, listen, why don't you start out by just if you would, for our listeners that may not be familiar with House Majority PAC and House Majority Forward, just tell them a little bit about the two organizations.

CJ Warnke: 00:01:21

Yeah, absolutely. So House Majority PAC is the House Democratic Leadership aligned super PAC or primary function is to win as many congressional races as possible.

You know, this involves a lot of paid advertising on our end and investment in candidates across the country.

You've probably seen if you live in a competitive congressional district, our TV ads, our mailers, our digital ads really driving a contrast between a Democrat who is going to deliver for you locally and a Republican who is not going to deliver for you in any way, shape or form. And then House Majority Forward is our 501c4 affiliate, is an issue advocacy organization.

You know, focuses a lot on trying to, you know, urge folks to support or oppose certain pieces of legislation and puts out this kind of messaging guidance is what we call it on a lot of what's happening in the world today, including some cost of living stuff that we've done recently and we can dive into that.

But most recently on Monday, we announced ads 26 congressional districts across the country talking about the House GOP budget bill specifically know driving the message of these Medicaid cuts are pretty bad. They're going to raise the cost of your groceries and Cut your healthcare.

And you know, when you couple that with the support for tariffs up and down the board, House Republicans and Trump are kind of just running on a policy of raising costs on American families and urging folks to oppose this bill.

Call their local House members, call their local senators and tell them to vote this bill down because it is clearly not going to be a fruitful piece of legislation for regular Americans.

You know, it's going to do really well for guys like Elon Musk's and the ultra rich of this country, but it's not going to do great for American families. So that is kind of just like a quick macro look at our two organizations real quick.

Col Moe Davis: 00:03:13

Right. Well, you mentioned there are 26 House members that you put out ads on, on, on Monday that you're targeting.

And so when did you realize that Chuck Edwards is one of the 26 worst members of Congress?

CJ Warnke: 00:03:27

You know, Chuck Edwards too. I mean, obviously both of you know this race really well and I know all of your work to get Madison Cawthorn out of the seat a few years ago.

And you know, Chuck Edwards ran on, you know, I'm going to be this guy who's going to focus on the local stuff and the way Madison Cawthorn didn't. And he's kind of really broken that promise. There is, you know, just alone on his support for tariffs.

I know a lot of folks in that area are trying to still rebuild after the hurricane and thanks to Trump's tariffs, you know, lumber prices are up, steel prices are up. It's making it tougher to build, not just in North Carolina, but across the country. And these are like direct prices that are affecting families.

And this is a policy that Chuck Edwards wholeheartedly supports. And it is like kitchen table issues. Right? Very, very important.

And then you see, you know, he's creating a lot of drama now, similar to Madison Cawthorn.

I've read some great local reporting about staff turnover in his office, and it doesn't seem like he's really has a good hold on staff retention in a way that can really help deliver for the constituents out there in North Carolina.

David Wheeler: 00:04:30

11.

Col Moe Davis: 00:04:30

Yeah, well, you know, he was in the state legislature for, for quite a while before he went to Congress. And while he was in the state legislature, he was one of the leading advocates against Medicaid expansion. And so, so bad.

Near the reddest county out here in western North Carolina is Graham County. I think they voted 84, 85% for Trump in November.

But the county commission, which are not exactly bleeding heart liberals Got in the car and drove to Raleigh to the state capitol and told Chuck and his colleagues, look, you're, you're, you're hurting our folks out here. We need this. And they finally passed it.

But included in the bill, it says if the federal reimbursement rate ever drops below 90%, then the Medicaid expansion goes away.

So this, this big beautiful wealth transfer bill that he signed off on, there potentially 50 or 60,000 people out here that will lose their, their health care coverage. And it's hard, it's hard to paint that in a positive light for ordinary folks.

CJ Warnke: 00:05:26

As you're saying, you know, Medicaid is not really a partisan political issue. It is oftentimes a necessary benefit that a lot of people pay into and a lot of people have worked really hard to have.

And it's keeping families afloat, it's keeping people healthy. It is one of the most important functionary roles of the US Government right now directly back to the American people.

And you know, Republicans want to try to say they're, you know, always making sure that families and like working people get the best benefit out of Republican governance.

But this is a direct, like we're taking money out of your pocket, we're making it tougher for you to access affordable health care and, but we're going to give these guys another tax break, you know, so they can afford the fourth or fifth yacht this time around because three is not enough.

And you know, on top of that too, like a lot of these health care cuts in this bill are threatening to shut down to Rural Hospital, which are, you know, far and few between as is now and serve a lot of folks in a lot of. So it's really just more than taking away the direct benefits.

It's making it harder to get access to any type of healthcare, to even see a doctor to begin with.

Col Moe Davis: 00:06:31

Right. Yeah, I know it is.

He puts out a periodic newsletter and in it he, the last one he was extolling the virtues of the big beautiful bill, saying that it virtually every income bracket gets a tax cut, which is literally true.

But the deceptive part is he doesn't tell you if you're, you earn below 51,000 a year, that your couple hundred dollar tax break is offset more than offset by your loss of SNAP and Medicaid and all the other benefits that are going to be taken away from you. So it's a net loss. Yeah, we're folks at the top. You're in the top 1/10 of 1%. That's people that make four and a quarter million a year and more.

Their benefit is going to be about $390,000, which is the median price of a house out in western North Carolina. So, you know, the rich are getting a free house every year paid for on the backs of those at the bottom of the ladder.

CJ Warnke: 00:07:20

this is, if you look back to: 2018

David Wheeler: 00:07:38

Right.

CJ Warnke: 00:07:38

Which was obviously not true then and not true now.

unning ads with their moms in: 2018

e it to Trump's tax bill from: 2017

You know, we have, I know a lot of folks don't necessarily tune into congressional hearings, but Democrats in Ways and Means Committee, Democrats in Energy and Commerce Committee, who were engrossed in this bill and the repercussions that it would have on regular people were fighting tooth and nail throughout the night to make sure that, you know, they were at least going to hold Republicans accountable for voting this, for this, calling them out and dragging it on and making it as painful as a vote as possible. So, you know, obviously Republicans were still able to pass it through the House. You see a lot of resistance in the Senate.

You know, when you have me agreeing with a guy like Josh Hawley about how House Republicans are going crazy kind Medicaid, you know, you're kind of in a bizarre world on GOP policy.

Col Moe Davis: 00:08:54

Yeah, I know. I found myself people that just historically I have been 180 degrees, you know, like Laura Loomer.

I was in agreement with her on Trump's accepting the, the emoluments from Qatar, you know, the, the big 747 palace in the sky and Elon Musk, you know, bashing the bill for adding to the, to the debt and the deficit.

It, it's funny who, you know, you find again, like like you're saying when I'm agreeing with Rand Paul, I have to stop and think wa am I wrong on this? But you mentioned the Affordable Care act and there are two things I'd mentioned on that.

One is, remember the Republicans were saying the Democrats rammed this through and they didn't even bother to read the bill is interesting. Marjorie Taylor Greene whining about, oh gee, I didn't read the bill and I didn't know some of the stuff was in there that I don't like.

CJ Warnke: 00:09:42

And it wasn't just her. It was also Mike Flood in Nebraska got caught in a town hall. He had to admit he didn't read a provision by that was read out loud by a constituent.

So it's clearly, you know, this is they're all afraid to say it, but none of them have really read this legislation.

Col Moe Davis: 00:09:57

Right.

Well, you know, we talked about the roughly 5 the congressional budget Office, which again is Nonpartisan, says about 5.2 million people lose their Medicaid coverage.

But you mentioned the Affordable Care act and the tweaks they're making to it will knock another 4.2 million people off of their Affordable Care act coverage.

So when you add those two together and combine it with the 27.1 million people that already are uninsured, that's going to be 11% of the American population that is without health care. And I just don't know how you pitch that in a positive light.

CJ Warnke: 00:10:28

Yeah, I think that's why you see a lot of Republicans not holding town halls when they go home for recess anymore. They all tried it. You know, that's the one thing I got to give some credit to Chuck Edwards is at least he's doing a little bit here and there.

I don't think they're successful in any way, shape or form. And they're really showing him to be out of touch, which is helpful for us.

But most folks aren't even meeting with their constituents at this point anymore. And that's how you know when something's unpopular. If you're hiding from the people who put you in office, you know things are not right.

Whereas you have now a ton of Democrats across the country having to meet with Republican constituents in these districts across the country. You see Ro Khanna doing it, you see Tim Walls doing it, just traveling across the country showing up because Republicans aren't showing up.

And I think that really does resonate with people if you can sustain it over a long period.

David Wheeler: 00:11:18

So Moe, I have a for you, it's your co host, if not if, when you're elected, are you going to support Hakeem Jeffries?

Col Moe Davis: 00:11:27

Yeah, I think he's, you know, it's tough being in the minority. I mean, there's only so much you can do.

I know folks that have a lot of, you know, high expectations, but if you don't have the majority, your hands are largely tied. So I think he's, he's doing the best he can with the tools that he's got.

CJ Warnke: 00:11:42

I think a lot of credit of holding Democrats together on all these votes goes to Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

I think he has been a powerful voice for that caucus and has held folks united and focused on the mission of Republicans are raising your prices, and we're going to fight for the benefits that you deserve. And I think that's really starting to resonate with people.

And, you know, this is going to be a key issue in so many competitive congressional districts across the country. And come next year, I mean, you look at a place to go to the opposite end of the country.

ked it out by a few points in: 2024

So that immediately becomes one of the most hot issues in a race like that across, and that's replicable in so many races across the country.

And then you also can bring in an economic argument, kitchen table issues around tariffs, of how all your prices are going up thanks to your local Republicans supporting Trump's tariffs.

It's a pretty deadly combo that we see popping a lot in research, because there are things we can directly point to, to be like, Republicans are actively trying to ruin your life.

David Wheeler: 00:12:52

Well, and they don't. I don't. I'm not sure that they are actively trying to ruin our lives. I, I just think they don't give a shit.

I mean, they, they could care one, one whip about most people, and Trump has certainly fomented a lot of that. But. So, C.J. you know, one of the things I really like leader soon to be Speaker Jeffries, is his measured approach.

I, I worked for Tom Vilsack, had a similar approach to, to politics and governing. I worked for Barack Obama in the campaign as a lowly, advanced guy. He did the same thing. You know, he's kind of.

We had a short conversation while he was senator and still running, and I said, hey, you know, how do you, how do you keep the patience? Somebody's, you know, whacking you over the head with a two by four to come up with a measured response.

And he said, david, one of the things I learned was let your opponent dig their own. And, and when they're banging on me with stuff that doesn't make sense, keep doing that.

So I, and I think Hakeem Jeffries, leader of Jeffries is, has a similar philosophy. Am I, am I far off?

CJ Warnke: 00:13:57

No.

And I think Republicans have kind of are already started digging a pretty deep hole on theirselves on legislation, and now this is the time for us to go off on offense on that. You know, I'm a frequent watcher of Hakeem Jeffrey, of leader Hakeem's press conference.

And, you know, he was going off yesterday on the tax provisions of this scam and how it's ripping away health care for millions of everyday Americans.

It's just so completely out of touch with normal people because Republicans promised on the campaign trail, I'm sure you both remember last year that on day one, they would lower costs. And now they're, they're making up all sorts of excuses of saying, well, we can't lower grocery prices.

You know, that's just like, not a thing we can do, even though we promised it. I think the leader is doing a really good job of using their own words against.

And now that we have some votes under our belts on what these Republicans are doing, now's the time to go on offense and draw the stark contrast of here's what Democrats stand for, here's what Republicans stand for, and the leader, too. There was a great NBC article about this the other day. Has been anywhere and everywhere to talk about this message.

I mean, he went on, he obviously goes on your regular cable shows, but he's also on Stephen A. Smith.

So he's really trying to reach as many people as possible with this message and driving this contrast of who's actually standing with regular American working people. And I think it's proving to be a pretty effective strategy.

David Wheeler: 00:15:20

Well, my good friend Mo has, you know, he's announced soon, and it's. He. I've seen a preview of an ad and Mo, can I use the tagline, might get in trouble. So part of it is kicking ass for the working class.

I really like that. I think it's short and sweet. It makes sense, especially here in the mountains.

And I think the more that we can focus on the working class again, which, for God's sakes, you know, we're the party of FDR and Truman and JFK and Johnson created these terrific programs that still exist despite the Republican efforts tear them up. They still, they're still around. And here's my prediction. They ain't going to touch Social Security. They ain't going to touch Medicaid.

I promise you that. They may try, but I just don't think it's going to go anywhere because those are programs.

They have survived a lot worse assaults than these knuckleheads. So you talked a little bit about going on the offensive.

I'm a big fan of pointing out facts about your opponent without editorializing, but just let the voters decide if face humping your cousin is the sort of congressman you want or not. And I've gotten, we've gotten in a little bit of trouble here and there, but we have survived as well. So who are we going to go on the offensive?

Who is your pack? 25, obviously, you've got a target list. You said 26 vulnerables. Let's highlight a couple of these sons of bitches.

And one of my favorites is Mary Meeks Miller of Iowa. Tell me about this woman.

CJ Warnke: 00:16:49

Yeah. So Marinette Miller Meeks, she represents Iowa one currently, barely won her reelection in four against a stellar candidate named Christina Bohannon.

And this was a district that Trump won by multiple, multiple points. That Marionette Miller makes, barely squeaked out by a few hundred votes is she's incredibly unpopular with Republicans and Democrats.

And we see this as a district that is a key flip opportunity come November of next year.

House Majority Forward did some favorable and approval rating research on her earlier in February, and we found that a majority of her constituents have an unfavorable rating of her, and only 26 have a 26% have a favorable rating of her. And nearly half of her constituents disapprove of her job performance. So she is what she's doing out there is not working.

And, you know, I think Iowa is a very interesting state in general because Republicans have gutted education funding out there. They're gutting health care funding.

And that's why you think like, you see candidates like Christina Bohan in Iowa and you see candidates like Rob sand out there in Iowa have a decent chance of making some real flips because they have seen what happens when you have Republicans in charge for a long time. And it is completely gutting institutions in that state and driving people out of there.

David Wheeler: 00:18:09

You know, I grew up in Iowa, C.J. and, and I was a, well, I don't know it's a good thing or a bad thing, but I'm a product of the public school system.

And, you know, we never fought about funding for Schools. The thing we fought about was bonding issues because they're all local.

But you know, there was at one point, I think either the constitution or it was written into law that 50% of the state budget had to be spent on education. And they certainly fallen off that wagon due to Kim Reynolds and Terry Branstad and some of these other knuckleheads out there.

But how do we get rid of. I call her quadruple. M. Mary Miller Meek is mean because she's mean, man.

There was a video of her where there was a guy advocating for, I think it was Medicaid, keeping the Medicaid program. And she just blew him off and walked into an elevator and gave him a scowl. You know, where do these people come from, these Republicans?

Because she could have easily just stopped in the hall and said, hey, listen, I'm on the way to a committee meeting, why don't we sit down after this and have a have a heart to heart discussion I'm happy to give you. Instead, she just walks down the hall, ignores the guy, stands at the elevator, scowls at the guy. Where do these Republicans come from?

Are they, you know, dragons that are being dredged up out of cemeteries? Where do these people come from?

CJ Warnke: 00:19:31

I mean, I think it just goes to show the level of disdain they have for normal people and how out of touch they've become. You know, when you are in oftentimes a more gerrymandered district, you're hearing a lot of things in an echo chamber.

You know, there are Democratic echo chambers, but there are also a lot of Republican echo chambers. And you're really insulating yourself from the problems of normal working people in your district and across the country.

And I think, you know, when you finally get confronted for something that, that is going to hurt people, you don't want to see that. You don't, you want to have to deal with that. And I think that often means you just want to run away from it.

There was in October of last year a great video of a reporter from New Jersey trying to interview Tom King Jr. Who represents New Jersey 7, another school district. And the reporter was just asking for a comment on a story. Tom Kaine Jr.

Just kept walking, wouldn't say anything. The reporter just kept asking questions. Do you want to talk about the Mets or Yankees, how they played this past weekend?

He wouldn't say anything for two minutes straight until he disappeared behind a doorway. So I think these people just don't care and don't respect any type of accountability.

And really the only thing they're ever going to respond to is being voted out at the ballot box, which is again why we are so focused on flipping as many seats as possible.

Col Moe Davis: 00:20:48

Well, C.J.

you know, I think one thing that David and I can do that would really be helpful for the party now, we had Adam Kinzinger on, we've had Joe Walsh, we've had David Jolly, who were all Republican members of Congress at one point. And since then, you know, David Jolly's now running for governor in Florida.

CJ Warnke: 00:21:07

Yeah, I saw that.

Col Moe Davis: 00:21:08

As a Democrat, Joe Walsh announced this week that he is now a registered Democrat.

Adam Kinzinger on our show said that, you know, he's certainly not welcome in the Republican Party if the Democrats had a little broader aperture that he could see himself being a Democrat. So David and I have had a pretty good track record record of converting Republicans to Democrats.

So if you could steer more Republicans our way, I think we can, we can shift the tide here.

CJ Warnke: 00:21:34

Yeah, I think, you know, in any election there's always kind of, there's multiple factors, but two that always stick out are mobilization, you know, making sure the solid Dem voters show up and, and persuasion. And you know, these congressional races are really GR to zero for persuasion.

This is how, you know, a Marie Glueson Camperez in Washington3 is able to win reelection. This is how Jared golden in Maine too, a district that voted for Trump by close to 10 points.

Jared golden is able to run and win so many multiple times no matter what Republicans throw at him.

It's got it is the most important messengers for Democrats are these actual Democratic elected and candidates who can talk directly to the local issues back at home.

You know, when we run ads and when I read coverage in every congressional district in the country, they're not really talking back home about national politics. They're talking about Jared Goldin in Maine is talking to the lobstermen out there and how to keep their businesses alive.

To go back to North Carolina, Rep.

Don Davis in eastern North Carolina is talking about local small businesses in North Carolina one and what he can do to make sure that the local economies are flourishing in the best way possible and delivering for his constituents. You know, no matter how, whether you have a D or next year name. So I think it really is on.

Candidates know their districts better than anybody else, better than any DC Consultant could ever know their districts. Because when a candidate knows their districts, they drive a message and are able to outperform not great environments.

et gain of three districts in: 2024

Guys like Derek Tran out in California, 45, beat a longtime Republican incumbent, Michelle Steele, because he was able to tell a story to the Vietnamese community out in that district and convert a lot of Vietnamese voters who were also voting for Trump to vote for him.

So it really starts at a candidate level and communicating locally, talking about local issues because, you know, kitchen table issues is a term but, you know, people sit down at the kitchen table and talk about bills. I know like I did with my fiance over the weekend and you know, trying to figure out your, your own budget.

And I think that's where a lot of local electeds running for Congress can plug in to help you really make those conversations a little bit easier and save you some money.

Col Moe Davis: 00:24:01

Yeah.

David Wheeler: 00:24:01

Hey, Mo, can I jump in here a sec?

Col Moe Davis: 00:24:03

Sure.

David Wheeler: 00:24:03

So. And if you would have said no, I would have anyway.

But CJ So I just want to challenge you to, to reach out, why don't you reach out to those folks, you know, Jolly, Walsh and Kinzinger. Let's, let's activate these folks. If this, and I posted this, and I'm glad you brought this up. Mo, this is really a good point.

I posted on Access and Blue Sky. You know, if the Democrat Party can't figure out a way to activate to the tent, you know, we're dead. I mean, let's be honest.

You know, we've got people willing. They've been on the record.

These guys are proud, you know, former elected officials that, but, you know, they've got egos too, but they have sucked it up and they're willing to go on the record and state publicly that they are aligning with the Democratic Party. In Joe's case, come Democratic, let's find districts for Walsh and Kinzinger to run in and fund them.

CJ Warnke: 00:24:54

Yeah, yeah.

David Wheeler: 00:24:55

I mean, what are we, what are we three away from having a majority? Kinzinger could win?

CJ Warnke: 00:25:00

And I think a lot of that goes back to, especially when you talk about Jolly in Florida is the gerrymandering problem we have across this country where Republican legislatures have, have just, and you guys have experienced this firsthand in North Carolina last year, right, where Republican legislatures are cutting out really good candidates and you know, not making it possible for folks to run in a lot of districts. You know, when Trump wins a district by 30, even in a Democratic leaning year, it's, it's not an easy win necessarily. But I agree with you.

Like we, this is a, we've always been a Big Ten party, right. Having voices of.

David Wheeler: 00:25:35

Not really. Sometimes.

CJ Warnke: 00:25:38

Well, how many voices? That ranges. Yeah.

I come from a family of mostly Republicans, and I think what helps my argument to the Republican members of my family is when I can point out these Adam Kinzingers of the world, the David Jollys of the world of folks who are like, you see, you agree with basically everything that this person says, and this person is saying that Democrats are the better bet. So I think there's absolutely room for them. Again, I think gerrymandering is our biggest issue on the congressional end, for sure. And obviously.

David Wheeler: 00:26:10

But, but. C.J. sorry to interrupt, but I'm really bad about that. But. No, no, listen, let's look at Kinsey.

You know, he, he has a place in Texas, he has a place in Illinois. Find a goddamn some. And I realize you can't wave a wand and just make all this happen, but I wish I could be the. You could be the starting point.

Find a district for Kinsinger to run in, for God's sakes. And we're down to, you know, two net, two to get the speakership. And.

Yeah, and the other thing I'm just going to broadcast and I'll actually let our guests speak, but is, you know, if speaker and his staff have not called these guys, you know, they need to check their sanity and they gotta figure out how to harness these guys to help us win.

CJ Warnke: 00:26:53

Listen, I think there's 100% always conversations to be had about this. Right. Like, and we're a group, too, as I said at the, at the top of this, our sole focus is on winning, so we don't rule anything out.

So I think it's an idea we're definitely open to exploring this year and next year as well. I think, you know, obviously, too, that's, that's up to the candidates. You could ask a person to run for Congress.

They may not necessarily always want to run, but it's definitely, I agree with you. It is 100% a conversation worth.

Col Moe Davis: 00:27:24

You mentioned gerrymandering, and particularly in North Carolina is truly a purple state. I mean, we, we have what, three times in a row voted for Trump and three times in a row voted for a Democratic governor. It truly is purple.

But, you know, our, in the last Congress, it was seven Republicans, seven Democrats from North Carolina, which is reflective of the makeup of North Carolina. And as you said, you know, the Republican legislature through, you know, creative Draftsmanship is now 10 to 4.

So, you know, that's, you know, that just here in North Carolina. But for gerrymandering, the House of Representatives would be virtually a dead heat rather than a Republican majority.

So, you know, you can, you can trace it back here to North Carolina is part of the problem that, you know, we're choosing. The Republican legislatures are choosing their voters rather than the voters choosing their representative.

CJ Warnke: 00:28:18

Yeah.

l be a new redistricting come: 2032

And it is going to be obviously a tough, tough fight, which is why I know David Hogg was on the show two weeks ago and he was talking about the Wisconsin state Supreme Court races, why these state Supreme Court races are so important and why we need to be invested, like building a permanent apparatus that is running Democratic candidates always and investing in these communities because that is the only way we can win in this day and age. A group like us.

his past year to focus on the: 2026

You can grieve a little bit that you lost, but you got to get back on the saddle right away and get back to work because it is the only way we are going to be able to, you know, bust these Republican majorities that gerrymander states like North Carolina.

Col Moe Davis: 00:29:25

All right. Hey, I don't know if you've seen the act. It's on the Senate side, but in South Carolina, there's the doctor, Annie Andrews. Yeah.

I don't know if you've seen her launch video where for listeners that haven't Google her name and go watch it. It's really interesting. She's a pediatrician, and in her launch ad, she shows X rays. She shows an X ray.

So this is a child who has measles induced pneumonia that could have been prevented with a vaccine. Here's an X ray of a child with pediatric cancer. And NIH has now been defunded to work on pediatric cancer.

Here's a kid with a gunshot wound that's no longer tracked as a major health risk, even though it's the leading cause of death for children. And then she shows an X ray of a kid with a perforated bowel. And she said, here's a kid that literally is Full of shit.

And then she shows a picture of Lindsey Graham and said, and here's an adult who's full of shit. Yeah, it seems like Democrats are. You know, I've always.

My gripe for a number of years has been where, you know, we go to a knife fight, you know, they kind of. They show up with an AR15 and we show up with the quinoa salad. And it seems like that attitude is changing. We are being more forceful and aggressive.

You know, Tim Walls was down in South Carolina last weekend and said, you know, Democrats have got to be more forceful. So are you seeing that across the country? Is that something we're doing?

CJ Warnke: 00:30:40

We're fighting harder, you know, in these competitive congressional districts. I'm definitely seeing that. You know, just to highlight a few Democratic incumbents who are doing that for sure.

New York 3, Tom Suozzi, which is a Long island area seat. That man knows how to fight for that district.

And he's also somebody that is, you know, you look at him and he is the perfect fit for his district, less competitive seat. But in Florida, 23, Jared Moskowitz is a great communicator of always holding folks to account.

I'm sure you both have seen clips from him tearing apart Republicans in these committee hearings before, you know, just trying to make their lives as brutal as possible.

David Wheeler: 00:31:20

But he does it with love.

CJ Warnke: 00:31:22

Yeah, he does it with love, right?

Col Moe Davis: 00:31:24

Yeah, he's great.

CJ Warnke: 00:31:25

And that responds. People like to see things like that.

And when you're seeing Democrats being able to tear apart a Republican message and have a little fun with it, it does really respond to people. It looks less forced. It looks less of a talking point. It looks like you're having a normal conversation with people.

And so, like, Moskowitz is a great communicator on that end.

A guy like in Ohio, one, Greg Landsman, is a really great communicator for his district and is often able to really, like, call out a lot of the BS Republicans are pushing in the state of Ohio.

And going back to Annie Andrews, I think one thing that really helps our candidates bring fights to Republicans in these districts is if they have an interesting background. You know, Annie Andrews, being a medical professional is an interesting background.

We have a ton of doctors in the House Democratic Caucus who are able to tear apart these Republican health care messages, their attacks on abortion. They're full of shit messaging, for lack of a better term, and because they're trusted. You know, people in their communities trust their doctors.

Another personal favorite of mine is Pat Ryan and New York 18. He is a former veteran. He went to West Point. He represents West Point.

And he's done a really good job of running a proactive argument of patriotic populism. That and just calling out bs, you know, not letting Republicans get away with saying the things that they get to say on the regular.

And he's not afraid to do it on msnbc and he's a frequent contributor to Fox News and calling them out on that all the time. And I think that's really important. It's not only having the fight, but it's taking the fight to everywhere.

Col Moe Davis: 00:32:56

How do you, you know, I think one of the challenges I see for us is that, you know, the right wing literally owns social media and they've beaten the mainstream media largely into submission.

So how do we punch through, how do we get our message across when, you know, the communication pipes are largely controlled by the other side and they're regulating what gets out to the public?

CJ Warnke: 00:33:18

Yeah, I mean, I think there are a few things to be done. One more investment in a digital apparatus rapid response wise for Democrats.

I think we as a party have really taken a lot of lessons from last year and are implementing that around this time around.

You know, Kamala HQ reached a lot of young voters and I think there is a way to continue to use those strategies and build on those strategies to create an even more effective messaging that breaks through on these social media platforms. You know, we work with a lot of young folks who really understand the algorithms of these spaces too.

And I think figuring out how the algorithm is changing in order to tailor a message that pops more. Republicans have been very efficient at that and I think we're getting much better at that. But it's something we can still stand to improve upon.

And then on the Fox News piece, I would say, listen, Democrats have to engage more with these right wing networks and not to say that they should just roll over and agree with everything that Republicans are saying on these networks, but you have to bring the fight. And again, that's somebody like Pat Ryan is really good about going on Fox and just absolutely tearing apart a Republican argument.

And I've again, I've had family members who watch Fox News pretty regularly reach out and be like, this guy's actually pretty sane. Democrats should be elevating. And so I think it's again, not being afraid to have the fight is the number one priority.

Col Moe Davis: 00:34:38

Right. Well, I'm just glad that we're engaging in the fight.

I think, you know, for too long we were too passive and I think the public wants somebody they feel like is going to fight for them and their family. So I'm, I'm really happy that we're taking a more aggressive stance.

But again, on, on messaging, you know, I think our party's always been really good at writing 20 page position papers that nobody reads. And the other side comes up with the three word bumper sticker that everybody remembers.

So I think we're doing a better job there too at, you know, finding those hooks that connect with, with ordinary people rather than using the academic speak that we have used for, I think too long.

CJ Warnke: 00:35:16

Yeah.

I mean, one thing just to touch on that, you know, we've done a lot of what I like to call unconventional message testing where we're trying to find out there, you know, what people are saying is making their life unaffordable. Because obviously we all know people are saying costs are rising. We all see costs are rising in front of us.

We're trying to drive in on what do you think is actually the biggest thing that is costing you more. And one of the top testing things was Americans are paying more for auto, home and health insurance and insurance company profits continue to grow.

And I think that could be a very interesting proactive contrast that Democrats could talk about.

Lowering car insurance rates, lowering home insurance rates, finding ways to get cheaper home insurance rates in climate affected areas, you know, like in Florida, California, or even potentially in North Carolina, because that is a cost that people see and think about on an almost daily basis for the.

David Wheeler: 00:36:06

You had to bring this up, C.J. insurance. I ran for North Carolina insurance commissioner and flamed out big time. But seriously, that is a, a big issue, man.

And North Carolina is probably, you know, one, one more storm away from Florida becoming Florida, where insurance companies are going to start pulling out big time. You know, and Mo and I live in the heart of, you know, the Helene damage here in western North Carolina.

And I haven't seen or heard much on insurance yet, but I'm sure, I'm sure it's coming. But so one of the things that is also be in my bonnet and since I've got you, C.J.

unfortunately, you're gonna have to live through this and it's not your fault. I just, I, I'm interested in your take on this, especially from a donor standpoint, whether larger.

You know, Marcus flowers ran against MTG, spent $16 million. Sean Harris, good guy, military guy, ran against MTG, spent three and a half million dollars donor money.

How do we get the message out to donors to stop donating to these sorts of races? And it's not a slight against either of those gentlemen. It's she wins by 30%.

I, I just did an analysis and posted up on substack americanmuccrs.substack.com on that race. And there is a consistency. She has raised about $18 million over the last three cycles. Democrats have raised about 20.

The loss percentage has remained the same. We lose by 30% plus every single time, an average of 31. How do we get donors to stop dumping money into those races?

And I con and I contrast that with our love for Lauren Bobert out in Colorado. We were an early, early supporter of Adam Frisch, who listeners certainly know lost by 546 votes.

He his cost per vote was about 26 bucks, which had he had another 50 grand, he could have won that race, I think. How do we get donors small and large to focus on the races that matter that, you know, the year 26 or 23 target?

CJ Warnke: 00:38:09

Yeah, I mean, it is a really good question because as somebody who works in the most competitive congressional districts across the country, I frequently ask myself the same question because I always want our candidates to have more money in these toughest races because I'm trying to win as many races as possible. And I know obviously, like a Marjorie Taylor Greene general election is not really a viable win for us there.

I think, you know, there's been a lot of tough conversations since November about where we're sending money and everything. And that's a larger, much larger conversation to be had.

I think it starts on all of us, like folks in the party of elected officials calling out when we shouldn't be doing something.

There was obviously, I don't know how closely either of you were tracking those Florida special elections earlier this year, but there are a lot of just random packs popping up down there around those, around those races that weren't really spending money on ads, but the people in charge of the packs were making a lot of money off of it.

And we did some calling out of that afterwards because it's just that you can't, it can't be an acceptable thing to happen anymore if we're really trying to build a larger and larger Democratic majority that is sustainable for multiple years, not just, just two years at a time, but for multiple.

So I think it involves a lot of us calling out and as an ecosystem, you know, not being able to, not necessarily like working with folks who are going to engage in tactics that are frankly, like, for lack of a better term, scammy.

David Wheeler: 00:39:38

Scammy and unethical. And antithetical to our charges Democrats.

CJ Warnke: 00:39:43

And I think ActBlue is doing a lot of good work about scam packs these days.

David Wheeler: 00:39:48

So, so let's. I want to challenge you on ON to join us Project.

I have been trying to build a database of these sorts of atrocities, not atrocities, these sorts of scam packs, et cetera. And there are a lot, and frankly, there are a lot of scammy consultants in Washington and elsewhere.

I'd love to build a database where before you donate to ActBlue on a candidate you don't know, you go to this database and look and see what is the win ratio on the consultant on that race. And, and how many times is that candidate run? Because, you know, in the case I know I'm going to call him out. I'm going to call out Marcus Flowers.

He ran that race in Georgia, raised $16 million, took that database and is using it for his own purpose.

You know, he's got his own pack which he pays himself out of, but he's raising money off of that race from money from donors that never should have given him in the first place because it wasn't a winnable race.

CJ Warnke: 00:40:41

So I would love it when folks do that. It just builds distrust between right, here.

David Wheeler: 00:40:48

We are and here we are. In contrast that with American Mucker. We raised pennies. Dude. Dude. And you know, we, we spent about 125 grand on Boebert. Came within 546 votes.

Now, we had a good candidate and that wasn't just us, but we contributed to that 450 or 540 vote law positive way. And, and then we did the same thing with Cawthorne. We spent about 150 on him. And again, we weren't the only reason.

that. And his vote margin was: 1400

CJ Warnke: 00:41:22

Yeah.

David Wheeler: 00:41:22

So why is it that we gotta fight for pennies? And we've got a track record. We've got a great. I'd love this database would help the party and help everybody. You know, we struggle to raise pennies.

CJ Warnke: 00:41:34

Yeah. I mean, first of all, I don't envy you as someone who's never had to raise a penny. I'm in a pretty, like, lucky position myself.

I will say, you know, one damn.

David Wheeler: 00:41:43

C.J.

CJ Warnke: 00:41:44

Well, more just because it's not a function of my job, I would say, yeah, okay. All right.

David Wheeler: 00:41:47

That's better.

CJ Warnke: 00:41:48

Yeah. Yeah. I don't have to do that professionally.

I will, I will say, you know, one, not that there's really any silver linings to Trump being back in office, but this is a time where I think Democrats, like, professionally, the activists, the party as a whole, is exploring a lot of of different and new ways to do things. And I kind of come from the camp of no idea is necessarily a bad idea.

Everything is worth discussing because that's oftentimes how you find some truly unconventional ideas that work really well. And I know obviously Ken Martin, new DNC Chair, is doing a really good job of building this new national Democratic Party.

And I think all options can be on the table with that. As to the raising money aspect, I don't know too much about that, so I can't speak to it. But again, I think the more ideas, the merrier.

And I'm happy to also offline with you after this to send you a few names of folks I think should be on your list.

David Wheeler: 00:42:49

Okay, good. Well, I appreciate that, C.J.

Col Moe Davis: 00:42:52

Yeah, I'd push back just a little bit on that because we had David Hogg on.

I brought it up with him that there's an article came out yesterday about NC11 and it's a North Carolina publication called the assembly, but in their quotes, Caleb Rudow, who was the candidate last time around, and Caleb was saying that, you know, one of his frustrations was that, you know, he couldn't get anyone in the party to even, you know, answer the phone when he called.

So, you know, we want somebody to run in, you know, in every race up and down the ballot, you know, even the ones, you know, it's like David ran up in, up around Spruce Pines, you know, heavily red area, you know, where, you know, Republicans are going to win just because of the math.

But my point was that the party wants somebody to run for every office, then there's got to be some base level of support for those candidates because, you know, we encourage people to run. And then when they do and they're in a district that's not competitive, it's like, well, you know, you're on your own now.

So we can't abandon those people who, who answer the call and step up, even though they know that unlikely they're going to be.

CJ Warnke: 00:43:52

ut further. So In December of: 2024

We've seen time and time again when you are able to field robust candidate operations in districts that, you know, are tougher, like a Trump plus 15% district that, you know, in the right environment could flip, but is a pretty tough uphill battle.

But if we're able to feel a viable candidate who knows how a strong race and has like the support around them to run a strong race, it puts Republicans farther back and back on defense.

is happened in a few races in: 2024

And so I think this is something we are keenly focused on this year, is, is trying to really work into some of these deeper, deeper red districts and see if we can find somebody with an interesting profile that fits the district really well that can draw an interesting contrast between themselves and the Republican who, you know, even in a Trump plus 15 district may be too right wing for the Trump plus 15 district because that was similar to the Boebert district where she was still way too right wing for the way that district voted. So this is something we are really, really focusing in on this year.

David Wheeler: 00:45:23

And she comes from a crime family.

CJ Warnke: 00:45:27

We're trying to really focus in on that and give them the strategic help right now to help build a viable campaign.

And we're meeting with candidates in multiple candidates in multiple districts across the country and as folks declare, are always happy to meet with them, to give them initial thoughts on things because we feel this is a very important thing for us too, especially really. Again, just going back to the gerrymandering conversation.

The map is smaller than it's ever been, so it's on us to find ways to expand it, and that is by running strong candidates and giving them support in much tougher red districts.

Col Moe Davis: 00:46:01

Well, listen, I really appreciate the energy and effort you're bringing to this.

CJ Warnke: 00:46:05

Of course. Listen, happy warrior.

Col Moe Davis: 00:46:08

Yeah, I was going to say, because it's easy to be, you know, down and dejected and just wring your hands and, you know, it is clear your optimism and energy comes through and that that's what we really need because we can't. This, this is not the time to, to sit down and rest. We gotta, you know, stand up and fight.

CJ Warnke: 00:46:24

Well, I'm a big time sore loser, so that's what fuels a lot of it.

David Wheeler: 00:46:28

Yeah. And, you know, one of the things that Mo has talked a lot about is using the rules to our benefit. We don't need to Cheat, lie or steal like they do.

But, you know, like we did with Cawthorne, encourage Democrats to make a strategic vote. There wasn't a primary in that congressional race, NC11 that year.

You know, we got Democrats to change registration to vote out Cawthon and very proud of that. But Mo and I to this day get shit from the bunk of Democratic Party for pulling those people off the Democratic rolls.

So I, I think we just need to get a lot more creative. And I agree with you, Mo. C.J. it's a delight. You are a shining light, a star in the sky for me because I don't hear a lot of this optimism.

I don't hear a lot of, of we're gonna win. And I'm confident you're going to. And you're going to be part of the reason that this majority, your donors team and everybody at this pack.

But man, you're one of the first people we've had on that has a focus, laser focus. And I really want to appreciate, I really want to thank you for, for doing that and providing us and our listeners with some positive energy.

I'll just say.

CJ Warnke: 00:47:42

And House Democrats make it easy. House Democrats make it that easy to be positive.

David Wheeler: 00:47:45

Yeah, that's true. Yeah, they've got a really good, good leadership team, too. And I, I am proud of this Democratic team.

And you know, the fact that we don't have a cohesive anti Trump thing, I think he's going to implode anyway. So just let him implode. Do, you know, use the Obama rule, not the dig his own. But.

So CJ We've got a candidate that can win and will win in a tough district still. This is not going to be a cakewalk. It's, you know, Cook is plus 5 GOP down from I think 9 when or 11 when Mo ran two years, four years ago.

What's your advice to Mo on winning this district? He's, he's learned some lessons since last time. You're an expert. You see good candidates, you see bad candidates.

What, what's the two or three things that Mo needs to focus on over the next six months in this campaign?

CJ Warnke: 00:48:37

Well, Mo, I think you got number one down already. So that's. You talk like a normal person. And I think that's really important. Right.

When we start using large talking point words that don't mean to anybody, we can lose a captive audience very quickly. Listen, the other thing I would say is focus on these kitchen table issues as much as possible. When we do our ads in general election year.

You know, they're talking about what this Republican is doing to make your life more unaffordable, make it tougher for you to have the family and life you want in the American, American dream. So I, I think relaying everything, you know, back to this is how Chuck Edwards is. Is raising your cost is probably a smart way forward.

And that's through. That can be looked through the lens in so many ways. You know, Medicaid, that's a health care lens, home insurance, that's. That's your utility lens.

Everything comes back down to people's bank accounts and their wallets.

And that's how I like to talk about things, because ultimately everybody's just trying to make it and build the best lives for themselves and their family. And I think that is the best way to communicate to that.

And three, and again, this is something both of you are already doing a great job of, is just calling out Chuck Edwards, making sure he never gets a day of rest is really important because that breeds mistakes when they feel like the spotlight's always on them. As you both know, with Chuck Edwards hitting a constituent with a clipboard recently, those types of mistakes happen with a.

David Wheeler: 00:50:07

Scotch in the other hand.

CJ Warnke: 00:50:08

Yeah. When those types of things happen, when the heat is always on you.

And clearly, you know, folks out in North Carolina, Levin did a great job at his town hall a few weeks ago, and really holding his fire, that's the type of thing that will cause Chuck Edwards to make more mistakes. And there's nothing that people hate more than being embarrassed by their member of Congress, as we saw with George Santos a few years back.

Col Moe Davis: 00:50:31

Yeah.

David Wheeler: 00:50:32

And Madison.

Col Moe Davis: 00:50:32

And as we saw.

CJ Warnke: 00:50:33

Yeah, that's one of the Madison cawthorn. Yeah.

Col Moe Davis: 00:50:36

Yeah. Two. Two things you got to give Chuck credit for. He. He did show up for the town hall knowing that he was not pitching to the home team on that one.

So I give him credit for that. And, and number two, he's kept his pants on. So that's a big improvement over our last conversation. That's about the only two things I.

David Wheeler: 00:50:54

Could think of that we know of. You know, there's some stuff out there that we're going to get deeper into as this campaign goes on, but.

CJ Warnke: 00:51:02

Yeah. Yeah, Chuck Edwards better be ready for some. Some more bad in the upcoming months.

David Wheeler: 00:51:07

All right, well, you know, the last thing we really need is another rich Cadillac driving guy.

CJ Warnke: 00:51:11

And come on, 100%, we can do better than that.

David Wheeler: 00:51:14

All right. Any parting words, C.J. how do folks connect with you, learn more about your organization?

CJ Warnke: 00:51:19

Yeah. Our website is the HouseMajorityPack.com you can follow us.

We're constantly posting videos of Republicans saying terrible things at on our Twitter at Housemadge Pack and same handle for Instagram and for TikTok as well where we're trying to reach everyone and anyone. And I appreciate the both of you taking the time to have me on. So it's great to travel well, C.J.

David Wheeler: 00:51:40

It was worth every second. All right, so that's it for this episode of the American Muckrakers podcast. Muck you. I'm David Wheeler signing off. Colonel Mo Davis.

If you enjoyed the show, follow us. Share it. Check out americanbuckrakers.com for more or to support us. Until next time, keep your eye on the long game.

Don't stop believing truth matters. And whenever a MAGA annoys you, just tell them Muck you.

Jimmy Muckraker: 00:52:07

This has been Muck you, co hosted by Colonel Mo Davis in Asheville, North Carolina and David Wheeler in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. Thanks to our guest today, CJ Warnke of the House Majority Packs. Learn more at thehousemajoritypact.com and follow CJ on socials @cj Warren.

merican Muckrakers. Copyright: 2025

And remember to never take from anyone, especially Trump.

CJ Warnke: 00:53:05

You know who made it.