WASHINGTON – Moderate Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois is a rising star within the Democratic caucus, with some already mentioning her name as a possible Speaker of the House someday.

But the person chosen recently to defend the recent midterm victories that put Democrats in control of the House is herself facing the biggest challenge of her political career.

As head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee – the group that raises money, recruits candidates, and sets the political vision for the 2020 House races – how will she navigate the sometimes choppy waters created by conflicts between the progressive and moderate wings of the Democratic party?

And can she help Democratic leaders avoid the sort of internecine battles between House GOP leadership and the pugnacious Freedom Caucus that sometimes paralyzed the House in recent years?

Bustos dismisses the notion that problems are inevitable.

“I want to dispel that notion altogether,” Bustos said in a recent interview with USA TODAY. “I think we will work famously together.”

She said the three priorities of House Democrats – low-cost health care for everyone, a $1 trillion job-creating infrastructure program, and government reform – "are the same whether you come from Queens or Moline, Ill."

Not all party progressives are buying her sales pitch.

One group, Justice Democrats, said Bustos needs to get behind more issues backed by progressives, said spokesman Waleed Shahid.

"We do not support Cheri Bustos as leader of the DCCC," Shahid said. "Bustos has not supported progressive policies like Medicare for All, free college, a Green New Deal, or ending private prisons and immigration detention facilities."

The group is critical of her for not taking in enough of her campaign funds from small-dollar donations and for taking money from corporate political action committees. Only about 12.5 percent of Bustos’ donations were small-dollar, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan group that tracks money in politics. About 42 percent of her funds in this cycle, or $1.5 million, came from PACs, while another 43 percent, or $1.6 million, came from large individual donors.

Neil Sroka, who is with the progressive group Democracy for America, offers more a warning than a critique of Bustos.

He is concerned about her support for party leaders’ “Better Deal” agenda, rolled out in May, which was supposed to mollify progressives but has become a symbol of the establishment message they reject. The party leaders are promoting the agenda as a way to “help build an America in which working people know that somebody has their back.”

"If Cheri Bustos takes from the election that inclusive populism is the path for victory for Democrats in 2020 and beyond I think the DCCC will find a lot of willing partners in this next election," Sroka said. "If she continues to ride the Better Deal agenda ... we will continue to go our own way and win seats our own way."

Leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus — Reps. Mark Pocan, D-Wisconsin, and Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington — said they were pleased with their initial dealings with Bustos as DCCC chair.

“I think she really wants to coordinate (with us) and make sure we are working out problems before they become problems,” Jayapal said.

Jayapal alluded to complaints by progressives in the midterm election that the DCCC was favoring moderate candidates over progressives in some primaries.

Pocan said the progressive caucus is going to continue to raise money and recruit candidates.

“We’ll do it in coordination (with the DCCC) as much as we can but our priority is to get more progressives elected,” Pocan said.

One progressive who is a strong supporter is Chicago Rep. Jan Schakowsky. She nominated Bustos to head the DCCC. Bustos received 117 votes to 83 for Rep. Denny Heck of Washington and 32 for Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington.

Political pedigree

Bustos, 57, is relatively new to Congress – she begins her fourth term in January – but she has a formidable political pedigree. Her father, Gene Callahan, was a journalist who worked for Illinois Gov. Sam Shapiro, then lieutenant governor Paul Simon (later a U.S. senator) and was chief of staff to Illinois Sen. Alan Dixon.

It was when her father was working for Simon that a young lawyer named Dick Durbin got his first political job. Bustos babysat the Durbin children and his father remained a key mentor for Durbin, now the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate.

Bustos followed in her father’s footsteps. She worked for nearly two decades as a journalist before switching to a career in public relations, where she rose to become vice president of corporate communications at a regional hospital in Illinois. She launched her political career in 2007, when she won a seat on the East Moline City Council.

When Bustos made a bid for the U.S. House in 2012 it wasDurbin – now her mentor – who made a key endorsement and convinced one potential Democratic candidate not to run.

For her part, Bustos has displayed an impressive ability to raise money, pulling in more than $2 million in her first run for Congress in 2012, about four times the average for a House candidate that year.

For her first re-election campaign, she raised $3.2 million, ranking 41st among House candidates that year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

She beat that amount in 2016, raising $3.5 million even though she had no opponent. She gave about $329,000 to local, state and national party organizations, including $297,000 to the DCCC.

This cycle she raised about $3.9 million for her campaign committee and another $550,000 for her leadership PAC. More than $1.1 million was given to candidates and party groups, including a total of $500,000 to the DCCC.

Going on offense

Bustos' biggest challenge will be defending the 31 House Districts that Democrats won in 2018 where President Donald Trump was victorious in 2016 (including her own).

Her next target will be those races where the Democrat lost by just a few percentage points. In two dozen districts, Democrats lost by 5 percentage points or fewer.

Another challenge will be to raise money for House races in a year when the presidential campaign will suck up a lot of the energy, finances and talent.

She is counting on her own experienceas a communicator to keep the caucus from fracturing like the GOP’s did when it held the majority.

“Communication is the key to our operation,” is a quote that hangs in her office as it did inher father’s. “If you combine communication and treating people with respect you can work through a lot of problems,” she said.

Ultimately, the goal is to win.

"I want to win fairlyand with grace," said Bustos who describes herself as "just an Illinois girl" from humble beginnings. "Win with diginity. But I do like to win."

Who is Cheri Bustos?

Age: 57

Family: Married, three children

Education: BA, government and politics, 1983, University of Maryland; MA, public affairs reporting, 1985, University of Illinois, Springfield

Professional career: journalist; public affairs in health care.

Political career: East Moline City Council, 2007-2011; U.S. House representing Illinois' 17th District, 2013 to present; recently elected to lead the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.