Team,

You heard from my folks earlier this week about the strong midterm turnout in Michigan. I wanted to broaden that scope a bit to discuss how the Midwest is finally on track to have a bigger role in Washington.

After all, the Midwest now represents about 18% (ope!) of the Democratic Caucus.

To ensure we are heard loud and clear, there are a few new things to report that I’m excited about for the 118th Congress, starting January 3.

First, I’m joining the brand new Heartland Caucus to bring more Midwestern pragmatism to Congress. Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan launched the group to get all us Midwesterners together to better advocate in the areas of manufacturing, trade and other economic issues that are critical to our region.

Also for the next Congress, my peers elected me to represent Region 3 in our Steering and Policy Committee, which includes Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. That group guides our party’s work in Congress, and helps Democratic leadership make key decisions.

This means I’m positioned to advocate for more Midwestern representation in the Democratic Caucus and policies that may be overlooked by those from the coasts, but are important to the heartland.

While the party’s top leadership roles will continue to hail from the coasts next term, I’m encouraged by the recent attention we’ve received by the press about being vocal for the Midwest.

And it seems the DNC is listening: They recently moved to make Michigan one of the five early-voting presidential primaries. Nothing is finalized quite yet, but having an earlier primary would mean a much stronger voice in how we choose our presidential candidates and our critical issues would get much more national air time. Plus, it would be great for business as legions of candidates, staff and press will stream into Michigan and get to know our state.

Lastly, I don’t quite have my new committee assignments for the next Congress since assignments won’t be set for a few more weeks — but I’m hoping more Midwesterners, including myself, will continue to have more and more senior roles in the caucus.  You’ll see another update from me in January to see where we landed.  

For now, I’m proud to represent Region 3 for the Democratic Caucus and look forward to being a voice for the Midwest!