Blue Dog members say they still stand by the old centrist mantra of fiscal responsibility, a strong national defense, and commonsense solutions to practical problems. But their membership today reflects how much the demographic and geographic profiles of the Democratic Party have changed – and how much the political center has shifted.

Centrist House Democrats make up only a fraction of the party's majority, but they're positioned to punch above their weight politically with the chamber narrowly divided. The Blue Dog Democrats, 18 in number, are positioned to have outsize sway not only in the House, where Democrats have 221 seats, Republicans have 211, and three are vacant. Across the Capitol, the Senate is split 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris set to break ties. And with President Biden in the White House, Democrats hold all the power in the federal elected branches for the first time in more than a decade.

Moderate Democrats in Congress are asking President-elect Joe Biden for classified, bipartisan briefings about the recent Russian cyberattacks on the U.S. and for intel assessments of how China may be seeking to exploit the pandemic. The big picture: These are among the Blue Dog Coalition's recommendations in a letter to Biden that calls on Democrats to stick to legislation both parties can get behind, around the pandemic, economic recovery, government reforms after the Trump era and holding foreign adversaries accountable for interference.