“We have 110 days from right now until Election Day and we will be spending the month of August in our home districts and we wanted to make sure we are singing from the same song sheet on the three top issues,” Rep. Cheri Bustos said. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty images House Dems unveil new midterm campaign slogan

House Democrats have finalized their campaign slogan heading into the last months before the midterm election: “For the People.”

The new motto, which Democratic leaders unveiled in a private meeting with members Wednesday morning, is meant to put a finer point on the broad economic-based messaging Democrats have been pushing with mixed success since last summer. That initial message — a “Better Deal” — has largely failed to break through with voters and has been openly mocked by some Democratic lawmakers.


House Democrats plan to begin working “For the People” into their statements and press conferences, with a focus on three key areas: addressing health care and prescription drug costs; increasing wages through infrastructure and public works projects; and highlighting Republican corruption in Washington.

“We have 110 days from right now until Election Day and we will be spending the month of August in our home districts and we wanted to make sure we are singing from the same song sheet on the three top issues,” Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), co-chair of House Democrats’ messaging arm, said in an interview.

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Bustos and her co-chairmen, Reps. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), met with the various House Democratic caucuses multiple times in recent months to solicit input on how Democrats should package their campaign themes in the final weeks before the midterms.

Democrats have struggled to chart a course since the 2016 election, with centrists and liberals fighting for the party’s identity and leadership frequently frustrated in their attempts to cut through the daily noise generated by President Donald Trump.

“I don’t think any of us are claiming this is poetic or this is the end-all-be-all of messaging,” Bustos said. “It’s just a way, in a quick way, to put together the answer to what we stand for.”

Bustos emphasized the simplicity of the message and said focusing on a trio of specific policy areas that Trump has failed to deliver on would allow Democrats to present a clear contrast with the president while also offering voters forward-looking ideas — something they believe they failed to do in 2016.

“Those are three promises that this president made to the American people that he has not kept. Sometimes you have to clearly and simply point out how we’re different,” Bustos said. “With discipline and not being distracted by the outrage of the day, that’s how people can start hearing us.”

Democrats openly blame themselves for failing to reach the working-class voters who helped put Trump in the White House and have promised to do better than just “run against Trump” in this year’s election.

But privately Democrats say it’s unlikely either party’s message will sway the outcome of the election.

Democrats are in their best position in nearly a decade to regain control of the House largely because of an energized anti-Trump base seeking a check on the president. Midterms also historically favor the party not in control of the White House.

Still, Democratic sources who attended Wednesday’s meeting said the presentation went over well with members in the room — a contrast to the eye rolling by some lawmakers after last year's messaging reveal.

And unlike the splashy rollout that accompanied “Better Deal,” which Democratic leaders from both chambers unveiled in a battleground House district in rural Virginia last July, their latest shift will be more low key. They aren’t expected to hold a press conference or make an official announcement on it.

The pivot to “For the People” could also help House Democrats put some daylight between them and the GOP. House Republicans have been running on their own “better”-based campaign slogans in the last two election cycles — “A Better Way” in 2016 and the GOP’s recently unveiled 2018 slogan, “Better Off Now.”

“We basically put it all on paper to say here are our top issues — they’re simple, they’re easy to understand,” Bustos said. “That’s how you break through this tweet machine coming out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.”