After less than two months, President Obama appears to have violated his January pledge not to help re-elect fellow Democrats who don’t agree with him on gun control.
“I will not campaign for, vote for or support any candidate, even in my own party, who does not support common-sense gun reform,” Obama promised on Jan. 7, two days after he issued 10 executive orders to bolster gun laws. “And if the 90 percent of Americans who do support common-sense gun reforms join me, we will elect the leadership we deserve.”
On Wednesday, however, he and Vice President Joe Biden endorsed former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland in his bid for the Buckeye State’s Democratic senatorial nomination March 15. Strickland previously opposed banning assault weapons and the Brady Bill that ushered in federal background checks for gun sales, and has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association in past campaigns.
“Ohioans have no greater friend than Ted Strickland,” Obama said in a statement about Strickland, who is in a three-way primary. “Ted is a passionate and proven champion for the middle class, and when Ohio sends him to the United States Senate, he will continue to be a tireless fighter for hardworking families.”
White House spokesman Josh Earnest on Wednesday referred questions about Strickland’s current stances on gun-safety laws to the Strickland campaign, and declined to answer questions about whether Strickland has moved away from his past positions. Press reports have said Strickland has tried to soften his views on gun control, which has led to distrust from both pro-gun and gun control groups.
“What we’re focused on are candidates who will support, and will promise to support, common-sense gun safety legislation,” Earnest said. He argued that while “an individual’s record matters,” Obama left the door open for latecomers to the gun control issue.
“It gave candidates the capacity to change their mind,” Earnest said. “After all, that is what we need to see. We need to see more people in the United States Senate and the United States Congress change their mind and embrace common-sense gun safety legislation.”
Asked if Obama’s support of Strickland is conditional, Earnest said: “I think the president’s endorsement is pretty strong.”
Obama decides to weigh in after he “evaluates the record of the candidates, he evaluates their performance in the campaign thus far,” Earnest said.
Aside from Rep. Patrick Murphy in Florida, Obama has not waded into any other Democratic primaries so far, but if he does again, the White House will make his preference known, Earnest said.
