The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) will begin advertising on Tuesday against Michigan Rep. Peter Meijer in the moderate Republican’s contested primary.
Meijer, a first-time congressman, was one of ten Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. He is facing off against former Trump administration official John Gibbs, who served in various roles in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Head-to-head polling in the race is sparse, but Meijer was 16 points underwater with likely primary voters in February, according to Impact Research data.
The ad, first reported by Medium Buying, calls Gibbs “too conservative for west Michigan,” and notes his endorsement from Trump. (RELATED: ‘The Aggravating, Infuriating Reality’: Peter Meijer Describes How Cooperating With The Taliban is Critical To Saving Americans In Afghanistan)
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“Gibbs called Trump ‘the greatest president,’ and worked in Trump’s administration with Ben Carson. Gibbs has promised to push that same conservative agenda in Congress, a hard line against immigrants at the border, and so-called patriotic education in our schools,” the ad says.
Meijer’s campaign blasted the ad, which will run in the Grand Rapids-Battle Creek-Kalamazoo media market starting July 26.
“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. 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,” a campaign spokeswoman told the Daily Caller.
The DCCC, the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), and Super PACs affiliated with party leaders have spent millions of dollars in primaries highlighting GOP candidates’ connections to Trump. California Rep. David Valadao, who also voted to impeach Trump, was able to overcome more than $100,000 in ad spending from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s House Majority PAC promoting his challenger, Chris Mathys.
Meijer’s campaign has raised nearly $2.8 million, and has $893,000 on hand. In contrast, Gibbs’ campaign has raised more than $484,000, and has less than $150,000 on hand. The DCCC is spending $425,000 on the ad buy, CNN’s Manu Raju reported.
The DCCC did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment on the ad buy.
