Colorado Democrat Jason Crow anticipates that the candidates he’ll recruit to help the party retake the House majority in next year’s midterms won’t want to go to Washington, D.C.

Crow, serving his fourth term representing the Aurora-based 6th Congressional District, told Colorado Politics in a recent interview that he wouldn’t be surprised if potential recruits in crucial districts look at him like he’s nuts when he suggests they might want to run for Congress.

“And, frankly, that’s the response that I’m looking for, right?” said the 46-year-old Army veteran, who’s been named a co-chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, in charge of recruitment. “To do this job, it has to be service, right? And service implies sacrifice. You can’t want it so badly that you’ll do anything to get it, because we’re full of those types of people in Washington. And when we get those types of people, we see what they’re willing to do, to hold on to the job, which is almost anything, to sell out their souls, to turn their backs on their constituents.”

Candidate recruitment is expected to play a key role in the 2026 election, as Democrats prepare to defend 13 House seats in districts carried by Donald Trump, while just three Republicans represent districts won by Kamala Harris. The GOP currently has a 218-213 majority in the House — the narrowest majority held by any party since the early 1930s — though pending special elections to fill vacancies could bump the Republicans’ margin up by an additional seat.

While the Senate isn’t considered in play, Democrats will only have to flip a handful of seats to win the majority in the House, putting the party in a position to provide a check on the Republicans. But as the number of true swing districts dwindles, the party isn’t relying on historic midterm dynamics, when the party that controls the White House typically loses seats.

Crow said he expects to have to do some persuading.

“What we want are people who are reluctant to do it,” he said. “And then there’s no elevator pitch, actually. It’s just honesty, telling them what it really looks like to run a race.”

Billed as a top DCCC recruit himself eight years ago, ahead of the first Trump midterms — when the political novice declared his bid to unseat five-term Republican Mike Coffman in a district that had never before elected a Democrat — Crow said he plans to convey the magnitude of a decision to run for a competitive seat in these fraught times.

“I flipped my seat in 2018. It was a fierce street fight, a tough battle, and that’s tough on families and that’s tough on candidates,” he said. “So, being honest with them about what to expect, tell them what support will be there for them, and what they need to do to win.”

He described a pitch that sounds like the furthest thing from a pep talk.

“And then I’ll say, ‘Listen, this is not going to be easy. This is going to be really hard. It might be one of the hardest things you’ve ever done. But you know, I’m not asking you to storm the beaches of Normandy for our country. I’m asking to step up and throw your hat in the ring for a race. Your country needs you.'”

Crow spoke on the second day of the House Democrats’ policy retreat, when party members had a chance to catch their collective breath after weeks of continuous, aggressive moves by the Trump administration that have left the opposition grappling with how to respond.

“What are those things we need to fix, that we learned from last election?” Crow said he and his fellow Democrats pondered. “How do we break through to areas of the country and the communities that have turned away from us? And how do we win elections so we can reestablish a check on this administration and start defending our communities against what has been an unbelievable assault by this administration — on health care, on veterans benefits, on our democracy and so many other ways that are hitting our communities hard.”

There’s no quick fix lurking out there simply waiting to be discovered, he said.

“There’s no slogan or bumper sticker or T-shirt that’s going to win the day across America, right?” Crow said. “The thing with retaking the House of Representatives is that every district is unique and different. And that’s going to be a battle that’s going to be won or lost at the local district level.”

Crow said he plans to rely on colleagues across the country to help identify potential candidates, since “nobody knows their states better than those folks.”

Calling his upcoming recruitment effort “a collaborative process and an opportunity to talk with (fellow members) about what their states and communities need,” Crow said his conclusion comes from experience.

“I never like it when people parachute into Colorado and meddle in Colorado politics, and they don’t like it either,” he said.

Crow added that he’ll rely on locals for guidance on how to “coach those folks who might be reluctant to step up and run for office, because, frankly, the people who we need in a lot of these communities — these are districts that voted for Trump or have Republican members of Congress, in many cases — the people that we need to run and flip these seats might be reluctant to run.”

Crow said he anticipates talking to plenty of potential candidates who are not career politicians.

“They’re not people that have been clamoring for a decade to run for office,” he said. “These are people, generally, who are combat veterans, who are retired police officers or firefighters, who are small business owners, and we have to sometimes go to their living rooms and sit down and tell them why they should step up and serve their country.”

He said he doesn’t have an easy formula at hand to finding the ideal candidate.

“There’s no secret to this. You find great candidates who are committed to service, who know their communities, who can build trust, and you provide support to them, and you just talk honestly with folks about what the Democrats will do,” he said.

Then Crow sketched out a message he’s been honing for years.

“We are the party of the working class. We’re the party of fairness, of leveling the playing field, and we’re not going to guarantee outcomes for folks. We’re not trying to enforce a certain outcome. What we’re trying to do is make sure that if people who are willing to put in the work or might need help when they’re down, are willing to do that, and we’ll be there for them.”

Ernest Luning has covered politics for Colorado Politics and its predecessor publication, The Colorado Statesman, since 2009. He’s analyzed the exploits, foibles and history of state campaigns and politicians since 2018 in the weekly Trail Mix column.

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