The House Democrats’ campaign arm is trying to promote far-right candidates in primary races in swing districts as it hopes to create an easier path for the party to flip and retain seats in November.
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The strategy, described by two GOP operatives as “risky” for Democrats, comes as the party faces headwinds in keeping the majority in the lower chamber during the midterm election cycle.
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) stood by the tactic when pressed about whether the method could backfire, potentially leading to candidates further from the Democrats’ ideology being elected to Congress, during an MSNBC appearance Tuesday.
DCCC CHIEF DEFENDS DEMOCRATS BOOSTING FRINGE CANDIDATES IN GOP PRIMARIES
“We have a high bar for that. I think if you’re going to do that, you need to really understand what you’re doing. If you’re talking about trying to pick your opponent, you might see us do that, sure,” he said.
In the latest attempt to meddle in GOP primaries, the DCCC is set to spend $425,000 on a new TV ad promoting pro-Trump candidate John Gibbs in his effort to oust freshman Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI), a centrist who was one of the 10 Republicans to vote in favor of impeachment, in the race for the GOP nomination for Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District, which President Joe Biden won by 9 percentage points.
“The DCCC boosting John Gibbs is clear evidence of who Nancy Pelosi prefers in this race. Democrats don’t want to face Peter Meijer in the November election because Peter is the best candidate to represent West Michigan in Congress, and he’s the only candidate who will put the interests of the Third District ahead of partisan priorities,” Meijer spokeswoman Emily Taylor said in a statement.
“We are confident that voters will see through Democrats’ political games while Peter remains focused on the issues that matter most to the people he represents,” she said.
If Gibbs’s internal polling released in July is correct, Meijer faces an uphill battle in the race, with the survey showing him trailing Gibbs by 18 points.
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The winner of the early August primary is slated to face Democrat Hillary Scholten in the general election.
Meijer’s race is not the first time Democrats have attempted to boost a GOP candidate they see as an easier defeat in a general election, with the House Majority PAC having unsuccessfully attempted to promote Chris Mathys over centrist Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) in the primary race for California’s 22nd District, a D+5 seat.
But Republicans maintain that the tactic is misguided, with one national GOP campaign strategist arguing that it’s telling that Democrats are not focusing on spending to boost their own candidates.
“It tells you everything you need to know about Sean Patrick Maloney’s leadership that the DCCC would rather spend on Republicans than helping their own candidates in recent special elections,” the source told the Washington Examiner.
