"Never heard of them": Meet the incoming House Dems who shocked even their own party

Tuesday's blue tsunami is poised to sweep an unusually large cohort of House Democrats into office who are virtually unknown outside of their districts. Why it matters: Obscure though these incoming lawmakers may be on Capitol Hill, they are poised to play a major role in determining the direction of the Democratic Party. House Democrats' progressive and centrist wings are both looking to recruit as many of these so-called "wave babies" as possible to grow their strength for the ideological fights ahead, Axios reported on Wednesday . Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus' PAC, told Axios some of these candidates applied for her group's endorsement but didn't get it because "honestly.... the districts looked so tough." "We will definitely be reaching out to them," she said. What we're hearing: Several Democratic operatives told Axios they had to Google many of the candidates who won upset victories in North Carolina, Tennessee and elsewhere on Election Day. "Never heard of them," a senior House Democrat, who was involved in battleground House races, told Axios. Said another House Democrat: "I don't think they were on my radar, and they were not on any of the DCCC's targeted lists from what I am aware." Tennessee 4th: Victoria Broderick Photo courtesy of the Victoria Broderick campaign Perhaps the most stunning result of the night was Broderick's upset over longtime Rep. Scott DesJarlais in a seat President Trump carried by 24 percentage points in 2024. Broderick leads DesJarlais by just 280 votes but told Axios in an interview she is "100% confident" of victory and is "ready to be a representative." "There's a little shock, and there's almost a beauty in that. It's beautiful, it's poetic, for the district," said Broderick, a local activist and tech support worker. DesJarlais had regularly won in landslides since he was first elected in 2010, despite a history of scandals . GOP state legislators drew Republican voters out o