Michigan GOP Rep. Peter Meijer was one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump and he's facing a tough primary this coming Tuesday. But Democrats are spending money to boost his opponent John Gibbs, a former Trump administration official who received an endorsement from the former president, POLITICO reports.
The effort is part of a strategy from Democrats hoping to elevate who they see as extremist candidates in order to make it easier to flip a seat President Joe Biden carried by nine points in 2020. Meijer has spent $2.1 million on the campaign as of mid-July, compared to Gibbs’ $340,000.
An ad launched by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee warns that Gibbs is “too conservative” for West Michigan and that he was “handpicked by Trump to run for Congress.”
"Democrats have meddled in a large number of GOP primaries this year, hoping to boost far-right challengers who will struggle to win their races in the fall," POLITICO's Ally Mutnick writes. "So far, they have not seen any success in congressional races. The party failed to boost Chris Mathys, a far-right challenger who ran against Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.), another pro-impeachment Republican. Democratic meddling also did not boost its preferred GOP contender in an open seat in the Denver suburbs."
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Earlier this month, the Muskegon County GOP executive committee disavowed Meijer over his support for gun safety legislation and Trump's impeachment.
"Peter Meijer violated the Oath of Office to uphold the Constitution which states '…the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed,'" the executive committee said in its resolution. "Peter Meijer voted without evidence of misconduct to impeach our United States President, Donald Trump."
"NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: That the Muskegon County Republican Executive Committee will uphold the Constitution, conservative values that the Republican Party Platform is based on and those candidates and elected representatives that also adhere to the aforementioned," the resolution stated.
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