Nearly Two Dozen Democrats Defect, Vote To Rebuke Fellow Dem For ‘Election Subversion’
The House of Representatives voted Tuesday afternoon to formally reprimand Illinois Democratic Rep. Chuy García for effectively choosing his successor under a pension plan that critics have called a coronation.
A group of 23 Democrats, including Washington Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, the resolution’s sponsor, joined nearly all Republican voters in denouncing García for “undermining the process of free and fair elections” with the timing of his retirement announcement. House Democratic leaders failed to prevent a mass exodus of Democrats who supported the symbolic resolution denouncing undemocratic behavior within their caucus. (RELATED: Democrats gang up on colleague for having the courage to call out fellow Democrats for ‘election subversion’)
Four House Democrats running for Senate in next year’s midterm elections — Reps. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, Haley Stevens of Michigan, Angie Craig of Minnesota and Seth Moulton of Massachusetts — supported the measure.
Ohio Rep. Warren Davidson was the only Republican to vote present. Democratic Reps. Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Marcy Kaptur of Ohio and Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia joined Davidson in voting “present.”
“Congressman Chuy García has been a progressive champion and voice for the voiceless in his community for decades,” House Democratic leaders said in a joint statement Tuesday in an effort to stave off defections from their own caucus. “We unequivocally oppose this misguided resolution. »
However, a majority of lawmakers appeared to have been convinced by Gluesenkamp Perez’s argument that García’s retirement constituted “electoral subversion.”
García, 69, announced his decision not to run again after the deadline to run for his seat, leaving his chief of staff, who entered the race hours before the deadline, the Democratic Party’s automatic nominee.
Garcí1 denied actually choosing his successor, but he told the Chicago Sun Times that he helped his chief of staff collect the signatures required to qualify for the primary ballot. García did not announce his retirement until several days after the filing deadline.
“You don’t get the cake and eat it too,” Gluesenkamp Perez told the House on Monday. “If you don’t run, you can’t choose your successor, no matter how noble the work you have done before.”
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 25: Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) arrives for a round of votes at the U.S. Capitol on September 25, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
A group of progressive House Democrats criticized Gluesenkamp Perez Monday night for advancing his resolution over the explicit objection of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
“Chuy Garcia has stood her ground in times when others have not, including the sponsor of this resolution of disapproval who has opened the doors to authoritarianism by the way she votes,” said Illinois Democratic Rep. Delia Ramirez, taking aim at Glusenkamp Perez’s moderate voting record.
Washington Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal, head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, also criticized the resolution in a brief interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“I think this is a very unusual and unique situation, and I think there should be laws in every state ensuring that someone can’t drop out at the last minute without equity,” Jayapal said. “But I don’t understand why anyone from my home state of Washington would support a resolution of disapproval. For example, why not work to change the law in Illinois?”
The Congressional Leadership Fund, one of the major GOP super PACs involved in House races, criticized Gluesenkamp Perez for not having the same energy to condemn the party’s apparent coronation of former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Democrats, however, were eligible to challenge Harris for the presidential nomination, unlike García’s decision to retire at the last minute.
“Marie Gluesenkamp Perez was complicit in the inauguration of Kamala Harris and the disenfranchisement of millions of Washington state voters,” CLF spokesperson Lydia Hall said in a statement. “Why does she suddenly care about Illinois voters being disenfranchised, but she doesn’t care when it happens in her home state and across the country? »
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