House Democrats voted Tuesday to make Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) their top member on the House Agriculture Committee, choosing a junior member of the powerful panel over a more veteran lawmaker who was also vying for the seat.
Craig, in her third term, defeated Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.), the second-ranking member of the committee, who has been on Capitol Hill for two decades. The vote took place behind closed doors, and by secret ballot, in the basement of the Capitol. The tally was 121 to 91.
The vote follows a decision by the Democrats’ Steering and Policy Committee to recommend Craig for the seat over Costa and Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.), the current ranking member. Scott dropped out of the race on Monday after the Steering vote.
Craig’s victory marks an unusually quick rise for a relative newcomer at the committee level, where Democrats have largely honored a system of seniority when deciding top posts. With a few exceptions, that trend is holding this year.
Yet Scott, 79, is struggling with health issues that have affected his mobility, and a number of Democrats had expressed concerns that he lacks the stamina to lead such a prominent committee, particularly with President-elect Trump gearing up to return to the White House for a second term.
Costa, 72, is a well-respected veteran from a heavy agriculture district in the San Joaquin Valley. But he’s also a long-time member of the Blue Dogs, a group of moderate Democrats who sometimes clash with the more liberal members who dominate the House Democratic Caucus.
Regional considerations might also have been a factor in Tuesday’s vote.
Costa is a member of California’s powerful delegation, but the Democrats’ power structure already tilts heavily in favor of the coasts, sparking concerns from Heartland lawmakers that they’re underrepresented. Those concerns have become even more pronounced in the wake of this year’s presidential results, which featured a sea of red through the middle of the country.
Craig, a perennial frontliner from a battleground district, had made the case that she was the better fit to appeal to Heartland voters who have drifted to the GOP in recent decades.
“I just won my D+1 district by nearly 14 points because my farmers and rural constituents know that I’ll meet them where they’re at, I’ll listen to their concerns, and I’ll work with whoever I can to improve their lives,” she said after the vote.
Craig said she’ll use the ranking member spot to focus squarely on issued affecting working class Americans, not least the inflationary trend that’s hit grocery stores around the country since the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We can lower food and energy costs for consumers. We can strengthen the farm safety net and open the doors of opportunity to new and beginning farmers. And we can ensure that nutrition assistance programs are available for the Americans who need them,” she said.
Updated at 11:48 a.m. ET