'Blacklisted' political consultants profit from Democrats' civil war [View all]

NBC News

Most business school professors would probably advise against getting blackballed by your own party right out of the gate when starting a political consulting firm.

But winding up on the wrong side of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has turned out to be good for business for Rebecca Katz, who was a top adviser to former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Katz started a new firm in February in part to work for insurgent progressive candidates and she's not alone.

"The DCCC blacklist backfired spectacularly because not only did it unite candidates behind a common cause, but because it connected us with candidates who never would have found us otherwise," Katz said, adding that business has been so good she has had to turn away prospective clients. "We're already in the black, and I feel like I'm on the right side of history."

The DCCC, the official campaign arm of House Democrats, said this spring it would cut off political consultants who work for a candidate who runs against an incumbent Democratic member of Congress.

The DCCC is trying to protect its members, who contribute much of the committee's funds, after insurgents Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley defeated longtime incumbents in primaries last year.