'Painful for America': Democrat breaks with Pelosi on push to overturn Iowa election
By: Emily Brooks (MSN)
Trouble in paradise??
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is facing growing opposition from within her party regarding efforts to overturn the results of an Iowa congressional election that a Republican won by just six votes.
© J. Scott Applewhite/AP Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and the Democratic Caucus gather to address reporters on H.R. 1, the For the People Act of 2021, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 3, 2021. It weakens voter ID rules.
On Monday, Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips became the first congressional Democrat to voice firm opposition to the push to have the House Administration Committee investigate the election and decide whether freshman Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks did indeed win the election.
"Losing a House election by six votes is painful for Democrats. But overturning it in the House would be even more painful for America. Just because a majority can, does not mean a majority should," Phillips said in a tweet.
Losing a House election by six votes is painful for Democrats. But overturning it in the House would be even more painful for America. Just because a majority can, does not mean a majority should. https://t.co/pXaOYBIMue
— Rep. Dean Phillips (@RepDeanPhillips) March 22, 2021
PELOSI: HOUSE COULD UNSEAT IOWA REPUBLICAN WHO NARROWLY WON RACE
The Democratic candidate in the race for Iowa's 2nd Congressional District, Rita Hart, argued that 22 ballots were improperly discarded and, had they been counted, she would win the election by nine votes. Pelosi allowed Miller-Meeks to be "provisionally" seated pending a review of the race, which the House has the power to do under the Federal Contested Elections Act.
Republicans argue that Hart should have challenged the election via a court case rather than through a legislative oversight avenue and warn that a politically motivated party-line vote in the committee could oust Miller-Meeks from her seat.
Other Democrats have voiced discomfort with the prospect of the appearance of a partisan power grab and worry about looking hypocritical since Democrats have widely criticized former President Donald Trump's claims of election fraud and mismanagement.
"I want to see what compelling reasons there are for the feds to get involved in this," California Democratic Rep. Lou Correa told CNN last week. "I think these are issues that, right now, are probably best left at the state level."
Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan told the Wall Street Journal that "unless we see compelling evidence that there's something seriously wrong, then we should defer to state and local officials."
The break from Democratic leadership from Phillips, who represents a district Republicans are targeting in 2022, prompted a response from the National Republican Congressional Committee.
"We're glad Rep. Phillips took our advice and came out against Nancy Pelosi's toxic attempt to overturn a state-certified election. Rep. Phillips's vulnerable colleagues should follow his lead," said NRCC spokesman Mike Berg.
The House Administration Committee Democratic majority, meanwhile, said that it is so far only following the process mandated by law. Filings from the two candidates' legal teams are due on Monday, and each side will file a reply brief next week.
"In Iowa's second congressional district, with the margins as razor thin as they are, it should not be surprising that any candidate in these circumstances would choose to exercise their rights under the law to contest the results. Scores of candidates — Democrats and Republicans alike — have made the same choice over our history with races that were nowhere near as close," a committee spokesman said in a statement. "The Constitutional provision and federal law that provides a fair and structured process for hearing election contests exist for just this purpose."
Tags: News, Congress, 2020 Elections, Iowa, House Democrats
Original Author: Emily Brooks
Original Location: 'Painful for America': Democrat breaks with Pelosi on push to overturn Iowa election
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About time someone on the Democrat side spoke out about this.
Kiss your committee assignments goodbye.
Generally speaking, unless somebody’s constitutional voting rights have been violated, I think we need to let the states decide their own elections.