New Democrats on the House Agriculture have been announced, giving the committee a handful of new members with both urban and rural backgrounds.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the additions Wednesday night. In a statement addressing appointments to the Ag Committee and four other panels, Pelosi said she looks forward "to the many contributions they will bring to our mission to fight for farmers and rural communities, promote the financial security of families, defend our national security, rebuild American with green and modern infrastructure and honor our veterans and their families and caregivers."
New appointments to the committee include:
Congresswoman Cindy Axne of Iowa, who beat out Republican incumbent David Young, represents Iowa’s 3rd District. Axne beat Young by 1.5 percent of the vote, but won only Polk County, which includes Iowa’s capital, Des Moines. That area is more urban than the rest of the district.
Rep. Anthony Brindisi, a public school advocate from central New York, beat out incumbent Republican Claudia Tenney by a large margin to represent the 22nd District of New York. The top five industries providing employment in the district are: health care and social assistance, retail trade, manufacturing, accommodation and food services, and finance and insurance.
California Democrats Salud Carbajal, Josh Harder, and TJ Cox will take seats on the committee. Carbajal, serving his first term, has expressed his district's concerns about labor shortages in California and favors preserving the H-2A visa program. Carbajal also serves on the House Armed Services Committee, bringing eight years of experience serving in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Harder is a former venture capital executive and business teacher who defeated four-term Republican Jeff Denham in California’s 10th District. Cox, a former engineer and businessman, claimed victory over three-term Republican David Valadao in California’s 21st District, which is partially made up of the heavily agricultural Central Valley.
Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., is serving her first term representing Minnesota’s 2nd congressional district after defeating one-term Republican Jason Lewis.
New York Democrat Antonio Delgado is serving his first-term representing the 19th District. He defeated former committee member Rep. John Faso, R-N.Y., in November.
Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., a former national teacher of the year from Waterbury, took the seat representing the state's 5th District from Republican Manny Santos.
Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., previously represented Arizona’s 1st District from 2009-2011 and again from 2013-2017, and is now serving the 2nd District. She replaced Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., who stepped down to run for the Senate.
A previous four-term State Senate seat holder, organic farmer, and small-business owner Rep. Chellie Pingree, D- Maine, now represents Maine’s 1st District and has done so since 2009. Pingree returns to the House Ag Committee after serving during 2009-2012. She left the committee to take a seat on the Appropriations Committee.
Washington Democrat Rep. Kim Schrier, a former pediatrician and EPA employee, represents Washington’s 8th District, located between Seattle and Spokane.
Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., a former CIA operations officer, represents 10 counties in central Virginia’s 7th District.
A first-time representative hailing from New Jersey, Jeff Van Drew, replaces 11-term Republican Frank LoBiondo, who retired from the House.
Pelosi also announced the reappointments of four members of the committee who have joined so-called "A" committees: Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., Rep. Al Lawson, D-Fla., Rep. Tom O'Halleran, D-Ariz., and Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif.
The complete list of committee Democrats, listed in order of committee seniority, can be seen below:
Collin Peterson, Minnesota (chairman)
David Scott, Georgia
Jim Costa, California
Marcia Fudge, Ohio
Jim McGovern, Massachusetts
Filemon Vela, Texas
Stacey Plaskett, U.S. Virgin Islands
Alma Adams, North Carolina
Abigail Spanberger, Virginia
Jahana Hayes, Connecticut
Antonio Delgado, New York
T.J. Cox, California
Angie Craig, Minnesota
Anthony Brindisi, New York
Jeff Van Drew, New Jersey
Josh Harder, California
Kim Schrier, Washington
Chellie Pingree, Maine
Cheri Bustos, Illinois
Sean Patrick Maloney, New York
Salud Carbajal, California
Al Lawson, Jr., Florida
Tom O’Halleran, Arizona
Jimmy Panetta, California
Ann Kirkpatrick, Arizona
Cindy Axne, Iowa
For more news, go to www.Agri-Pulse.com.
(Story updated 1-18 at 1 p.m. to include full list)
