ON MESSAGE
Ann Arbor Democrat Rep. Debbie Dingell is not a member of congress to just phone it in. She is always working hard for her constituents as well as all of the residents of Michigan. Having politicked hard to gain her colleagues’ votes, she is once again the new House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee chair – which is essentially the messaging chair for the Democratic caucus, tasked with developing messages and then gaining the support of caucus-wide messages to communicate where Democrats stand versus the Republican caucus. Dingell previously held this position in 2018 and 2020, but was term-limited out. To gain her fellow Democrats’ favor and remind them she was running, she passed out Michigan chocolates. “I think it’s important to have a battleground state voice at the table,” she told Punchbowl. Dingell is also the chair of the Heartland Caucus in Congress, which she launched in early 2023 with about 20 Democratic colleagues to underscore the contributions and electoral might of the Midwest, along with fellow Michigan congressmen Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham, Bloomfield, Oakland County), Rashida Tlaib (D-Dearborn, Detroit, Franklin, Southfield) and Shri Thanedar (D-Detroit). “The reality is the Heartland is the industrial and the agriculture core of the U.S.,” Dingell said, noting there is nothing “flyover” about the center of the United States.