One major midterm election issue that Democrats have found themselves in disarray over is the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's (DCCC) decision to boost certain Republican candidates during primary elections, in hopes that such candidates will be easier to beat come November. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), who serves as the DCCC chairman, was forced to answer for such a tactic during his recent appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press."
The particular race that's getting attention is in Michigan's 3rd Congressional District, currently held by Rep. Peter Meijer, a Republican who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump. He was defeated by Trump-backed John Gibbs in the primary earlier this month. Gibbs wasn't only boosted by Trump, but by the DCCC as well. Gibbs is considered easier for the Democratic nominee Hillary Scholten to beat than Meijer in the general, and the race is now regarded as slightly favoring Democrats.
Host Chuck Todd confronted Rep. Maloney about how "there's a lot of people who thought that you oversaw a very cynical ploy in order to help a Trump-backed opponent in the Peter Meijer district in Michigan." Of Gibbs' primary win, Todd also brought up "look, you see the result, you got the candidate that you wanted apparently there" and accused him of having "put party over country, did you not? And is that something you're comfortable with?"
Maloney denied the charge, and continued to push Democratic talking points by painting Republicans as extreme. "Absolutely not did we put party over country. The moral imperative right now, Mr. Todd, is to keep the dangerous MAGA Republicans who voted to overturn our election out of power," he claimed.
The congressman then went on a rant about the "danger" of election deniers. When it comes boosting Gibbs, Maloney argued that "we believe that by running a commercial that called our opponent an extremist who was too conservative for Western Michigan, we teed up the choice in the fall," as he promoted Scholten, whom he hopes people will support. "We're going to win that seat. The big loser in the Michigan primary was Kevin McCarthy and this MAGA crowd, and they know it," Maloney declared.
Todd continued to press the issue, though, reminding Maloney of something Rep. Meijer said, that "less electable doesn't mean unelectable." It's not only the losing Republican who took issue with such meddling, but Maloney's fellow Democrats as well, including Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), who per a POLITICO report from last month had called to mind how people thought Trump was easier to beat as well.
"If this man Mr. Gibbs wins, then have you not helped an election denier get into Congress," Todd asked, though Maloney did not directly answer the question. Instead, he defended his actions by emphasizing that Gibbs is easier to beat, while also throwing Rep. Meijer under the bus despite him voting to impeach Trump.
Referencing Cook Political Report's ranking of the seat that favors, but does not seem to all but guarantee a Democratic win, Maloney claimed his meddling was "doing our job."
Todd tried once more to continue the conversation and get a straight answer out of Maloney, offering "it's cynical moves like this, is it not," as to why "everybody hates both political parties."
It was at this point that Maloney seemed to acknowledge he took the easy way out, framing it as some sort of crusade and "moral imperative" though.
"I understand that there are difficult moral questions, philosophical questions about tactics. That's always true in politics. You better believe it. But here's the deal. We are more likely to win that seat. John Gibbs is a weak opponent. He's an extremist with a vicious anti-choice record," Maloney said shortly before the segment moved on to discussing other races. "He can't string a set of policies together that will make sense for Western Michigan. We're going to win that seat. And we believe that by keeping those dangerous people out of power, we address the larger moral imperative, and that's our job."
Throughout the segment, Rep. Maloney also assured Todd that he is confident his party will maintain control of the House, claiming "we have had a summer of strength and we're going to buck history by making history" and that Democrats "know that we need to get things done."
The president's party almost always loses seats during his first midterm election. The one recent exception was in 2002, shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks, when President George W. Bush was in office and Republicans picked up eight seats in the House and two in the Senate.
When it comes to the particularly high amount of open seats being left by Democratic House members--in the 30s--the congressman assured Todd that he has faith in their candidates as well.
He acknowledged that "we've been counted out for a while now. But we are having a comeback. And we have great candidates all over the country: veterans, diverse candidates that look like America, that are a good fit for their district."
Republicans also have diverse candidates of their own, though. This includes Yesli Vega, who is running to unseat Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), a vulnerable incumbent in Virginia's 7th Congressional District. Todd made reference to Vega and her hitting Democrats for their crusade to defund the police.
While some have gotten ahead of themselves in claiming that Democrats have a better chance, Republicans are still forecasted to win back control of the House. It's also worth reminding that Republican performance in past midterm elections had been underestimated.