Establishment Dems face blowback for trying to play kingmaker

Some Democratic candidates are learning the hard way that there's a cost to being party leadership's favorite in a hotly contested primary.

Why it matters: This echoes the Tea Party wave that hit Republicans in the 2010s, with party outsiders harnessing primary voters' anger to win upset victories over establishment candidates.

• The first blow for Democrats came earlier this month in California's 22nd district: Moderate Assembly Member Jasmeet Bains lost to progressive Randy Villegas despite being backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).
• On Thursday another DCCC endorsee, Sen. Joe Baldacci, lost the Democratic primary in Maine's 2nd district to progressive rival and state auditor Matt Dunlap.

Catch up quick: The DCCC — House Democrats' campaign arm — has infuriated some corners of the party by adding candidates in contested Democratic primaries to its coveted "Red to Blue" list.

• The program is generally meant to provide resources to help Democrats in key swing districts defeat their GOP opponents.
• In addition to Bains and Baldacci, the DCCC threw its support behind Bob Brooks in Pennsylvania, sheriff's deputy Johnny Garcia in Texas, Marlene Galán-Woods in Arizona and Bale Dalton in Florida despite all facing primary opposition.
• The party spent $135,000 on ads supporting Bains and another $7,500 backing Baldacci, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact.

The intrigue: Outsider progressives have used the interventions to draw on growing anti-establishment sentiments among the party grassroots.

• Villegas' campaign sent out a press release in late May labeling Bains the "DCCC's Handpicked Candidate" in its subject line.
• Dunlap ran ads calling Baldacci a "puppet owned by D.C. corporate bosses."
• After the DCCC added Balton to the list, his progressive rival Marialana Kinter said in a statement to Axios that he was "handpicked by an out-of-touch group ... that seems disconnected from the realities facing families."

Between the lines: The DCCC has defended the tactic by noting the involvement of alleged GOP groups in each of the races where they spent.

• Real Change PAC, an outside group that Dems say is affiliated with the GOP, ran an ad declaring Baldacci was "bankrolled by D.C." and displaying photos of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
• "The real story of this primary season is a panicking Republican Party spending millions of dollars to try to meddle and mislead Democratic voters before the general election," DCCC Executive Director Julie Merz said in a statement to Axios.

What they're saying: Harry Burke, a spokesperson for Dunlap, said in a statement to Axios that "there was clearly a backlash to all that outside interference — we heard it from voters every day."

• Baldacci "ran a campaign propped up predominantly by outside spending, and Mainers rejected it," Burke said.
• "The growing momentum behind our campaign is proof that people are hungry for authentic leadership," said Kinter, arguing Democratic leaders "risk alienating the very people they claim to represent."

What we're hearing: "Everyday voters are so tired of what feels rigged and ... predetermined," progressive Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-N.J.) told Axios.

• Mejia dispatched several establishment-backed foes in a February special primary election to replace Rep. Mikie Sherrill after she was elected governor of New Jersey.
• "The perspective of some voters is that congressional offices are what party bosses use to allow people to fail up and out or as some kind of patronage," she said.
• "Rome is on fire. Business as usual fails the American people. And if that's the sentiment of the suburbs of New Jersey, that is telling."

The bottom line: "Primaries are healthy, as are various progressive stakeholders making their case for who will be the strongest nominee," said Merz.

• "Democrats are united to win back the House Majority in November. We trust the process."