Rep. Peter Meijer on House Democrats' campaign arm funding his primary opponent: 'Political jiu-jitsu'

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Democrats meddle in GOP primaries hoping to nominate more conservative candidates

Fox News correspondent Mike Emanuel joins 'Special Report' with the details on the unusual campaign strategy.

Rep. Peter Meijer, R-M.I., slammed the House Democrats' campaign arm on Monday after they put funding behind his opponent, John Gibbs, in an effort to elect someone they believe will be easier competition in the general election. 

"The DCCC’s ad buy was more than Gibbs raised over the entire duration of his campaign," Meijer wrote in a "Common Sense" substack piece. "In other words, the Democrats are not merely attempting to boost a candidate over the finish line: They are subsidizing his entire campaign."

Meijer voted to impeach former President Trump after the Jan 6 riot and noted in his piece that the Democrats, especially throughout the Jan. 6 hearings, have made a point to say that democracy is under attack. 

Gibbs is a supporter of Trump and worked in his administration. He has repeated the former president's claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election. 

Then-Michigan's 3rd District Congressional Republican candidate Peter Meijer speaks at a campaign rally Oct. 14, 2020 in Grand Rapids, Mich. ((AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, file))

AFTER TRUMP-BACKED CANDIDATE VICTORIES, SOME DEMOCRATS QUESTION PARTY'S MEDDLING IN GOP PRIMARIES

"So you would think that the Democrats would look at John Gibbs and see the embodiment of what they say they most fear. That as patriots they would use every tool at their disposal to defeat him and similar candidates that they’ve said are an existential threat. 

Democrats have spent millions backing Republican candidates and meddling in primary elections across the country they believe to be unelectable or extreme.  

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) spent $425,000 on an ad boosting Gibbs in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. The Democratic Governors Association has spent millions boosting Republican candidates like Dan Cox, the GOP gubernatorial nominee in Maryland. 

Del. Dan Cox, a Maryland state legislator who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor of Maryland, talks to reporters, in Annapolis, Md., Thursday, June 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Brian Witte)

MEDDLING BY DEMOCRATS MAKES A MARK IN GOP GUBERNATORIAL PRIMARY IN ILLINOIS, FALLS FLAT IN COLORADO

"The Democrats are justifying this political jiu-jitsu by making the argument that politics is a tough business," Meijer wrote, adding that while he agreed it was tough, it was bounty by "moral limits." He said those supportive of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol "fall outside those limits."

He criticized meddling at state and local levels as well, arguing that Democratic groups were claiming "moral high ground" but still giving money to candidates similar to Gibbs. 

 "As the January 6 Select Committee continues to warn about the ongoing threat to democracy, their own party dues are paying to help elect the same villains they rail against," Meijer wrote. 

A voter woman passes a large sign before voting in Minneapolis Sept. 23, 2016. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)  (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

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Journalists and pundits have criticized the strategy by Democrats as hypocritical and risky. 

Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., told ABC's Jonathan Karl on Sunday that the move by the DCCC was "embarrassingly hypocritical."