MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Election Day is finally here. Americans will select a new president. You know this by now - it's going to be either the former president, Donald Trump, or the current vice president, Kamala Harris.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Last night, both candidates made their final pitches to voters.
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DONALD TRUMP: Nov. 5, today, will be the most important day in the history of our country. And together, we will make America powerful again. We will make America wealthy again.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: Do we believe in freedom?
(CHEERING)
HARRIS: Do we believe in opportunity?
(CHEERING)
HARRIS: Do we believe in the promise of America?
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HARRIS: And are we ready to fight for it?
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INSKEEP: OK, we should own a problem here. The media pays so much attention to the presidential race overwhelmingly so, but that is far from the only thing on the ballot. Democrats are trying to keep control of the Senate, and they face an uphill fight there.
MARTIN: All 435 seats in the U.S. House are up for grabs. Republicans would like to keep control of that chamber. That's considered a toss-up because Republicans have only a four-seat lead. Our next guest would very much like to erase that lead and retake the House for her side. She is Representative Suzan DelBene of Washington state, and she chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which works to make that happen. Thank you so much for coming by.
SUZAN DELBENE: Absolutely. Big day today.
MARTIN: Big day today. And thank you for coming by the studio. It's nice to see you in person. Democrats could win the House by holding onto the seats you currently hold and picking up seats in suburban areas in Democratic-leaning states like New York and California. What are the single most important factors that you think will tip the House in your favor?
DELBENE: Well, first of all, I think we're in incredibly strong position, and all across the country 'cause we have races in New York and California, but we also have them in Iowa and Nebraska, in Oregon and Alabama, so all over the country. And we have incredible candidates. And people are looking for folks who want to govern, who are going to represent their communities and work to get things done. Those are the folks that we have running across the country who are going to stand up for our rights and our freedoms, protect reproductive freedom, stand up to build an economy that works for everyone in this country and govern. It's a strong argument. People understand that. Republicans aren't focused on the issues that people care about, and you see that on the ground.
MARTIN: So you think you have a strong slate of high-quality candidates who have, you know, great credentials and have sort of broad appeal. Is there a single issue that is standing out to you right now?
DELBENE: I think there's a few issues that are critically important. One, obviously, reproductive freedom is important. Across the country, folks are standing up to stand up for their freedoms and particularly reproductive freedom. Making sure we have a economy that works for everyone in our country, that we are working to build and strengthen the middle class. That's an important issue. Issues of affordability, like housing, child care. These are issues all across the country, too.
MARTIN: So I've seen a number of the ads, and a lot of the ads say, I will work with anybody. That's - this is one of the themes that a lot of these candidates are expressing. How do you respond to progressives who worry that the party is prioritizing moderates and courting Republicans in lieu of or prioritizing that over sort of getting out the base? What do you say to that?
DELBENE: Well, first of all, we are looking at purple districts across the country. And so these are districts where they could potentially elect a Democrat or Republican. The reason I think Democrats win here is because we have candidates who are standing up for these communities and are listening to many differing points of view and coming together to make decisions that are best for their communities. And we also have folks who want to govern, who understand that to get stuff done in Washington, D.C., you've got to get things through the House, through the Senate and to the president's desk. And they're coming to govern.
MARTIN: Well, to that end, there's a real chance that Democrats could take the House and lose the Senate, or the Democrats could take the House and lose both the Senate and the White House. How are you going to deal with that? Can you identify some issues on which you think you can work with Republicans or is the main goal going to be resist and restrain what you consider extremist positions by Republicans?
DELBENE: Well, we are fighting to move our country forward, fighting for the American people. You've seen this Congress, the chaos, dysfunction and extremism. Republicans almost shutting down the government a few times. But the reason we kept getting through those was because Democrats stood up in the minority to help move legislation, to keep the government running to prevent us from defaulting. So these are all things that we've already been working on in the majority with the gavels. We'll continue to do that, to focus on governing and getting things done.
MARTIN: Can you identify one or two issues, though, that you think you feel pretty confident that you can work with in case you wind up being a minority again?
DELBENE: Well, affordable housing's a great example. We have bipartisan legislation that was part of a package that even passed the House.
MARTIN: That is Congressman Suzan DelBene. She's the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and she represents a district in Washington state. Congresswoman, thank you so much for coming in.
DELBENE: Absolutely. Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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