The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s attempt to boost centrist Republican Rep. Peter Meijer’s Trump-backed primary opponent has been criticized by members of its own party for playing with fire.
House Democrats’ campaign arm spent $425,000 on an ad buy stating John Gibbs, a former Trump appointee who has come under fire for tweeting conspiracy theories, was “hand-picked by Trump to run for Congress” and “too conservative for west Michigan” just ahead of Tuesday’s primary election.
Critics of the move argue that promoting an election-denying candidate in the heated race against Meijer, one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach the former president for inciting a riot at the Capitol, to ease Democrats’ path to victory in the swing district is both risky and “hypocritical,” with some noting that former President Donald Trump was seen as the more favorable candidate for Democrats in 2016.
DEMOCRATS MEDDLE IN MICHIGAN GOP PRIMARY TO PROMOTE FAR-RIGHT CANDIDATE
”Republican @RepMeijer placed his young political career at risk by voting to impeach Trump. Disappointing that Ds are trying to help Trump exact vengeance,” former Obama adviser David Axelrod tweeted.
Meijer himself accused the Democrats of “galling hypocrisy” in an interview with the Washington Post.
Progressive advocacy group Justice Democrats slammed the strategy, arguing that the DCCC should be focusing on its own candidates.
“Democratic Party leadership will literally support Republicans before they start supporting progressives,” the group tweeted.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) asserted that she believed the strategy is misguided, arguing that Democrats have made an effort to dispel misinformation about the 2020 election results and should not promote anyone spreading information aligned with Trump’s unfounded claims that he won.
“I do want to win these races, but it makes me worried,” she told Politico. “I just really worry about promoting election deniers and this idea that we’re going to be able to control what voters want at the end of the day.”
Others said that while the plan could backfire, they understand the strategy.
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House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) applauded Meijer’s decision to push back against Trump but argued that his decision to caucus with Republicans warrants Democrats pushing to unseat him.
“I’ve made very positive comments about Peter Meijer. He showed great courage and integrity in his vote. But the Republican Party is a party that’s lost its way, and if you want to be the Trump party, OK, fine, then you would like to X, Y, or Z, but the ads are accurate,” he said. “Now, the problem is, Peter Meijer is a constructive member of the Congress, but frankly, he votes to organize as a Republican, which means Republicans would be in the leadership and committees, and that’s not good for the country.”
