House Democrats spar over intraparty election complaint against Illinois Rep. Garcia

A House Democrat is forcing a vote Tuesday on a resolution accusing fellow party member Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García of “undermining the process of a free and fair election.”

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Washington Democrat, says Mr. García, Illinois Democrat, is “subverting an election.” She accused him of handpicking his chief of staff to run to replace him in 2026 and waiting to announce his plan to retire until after the state’s election filing deadline so there would be no competition. 

“If you’re not going to run, you don’t get to choose your successor, no matter how noble the work you have done beforehand,” she said. “The day after the filing deadline, once it was clear that there would be no Democratic alternative to his chief in a D+17 seat, he announced his retirement.”

Fellow Democrats slammed Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez for bringing an intraparty fight to the House floor, accusing her of “hubris” and engaging in a “cheap political stunt.”

“Shame on you,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Illinois Democrat said, noting that Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez has “no idea about the role that Chuy Garcia has played in the city of Chicago and continues to play in the city of Chicago.”

Mr. García, 69, had planned to seek a fifth term in the House but decided at the last minute not to after his cardiologist advised him to take better care of his health, and his wife, who has multiple sclerosis that is showing signs of progressing, asked him not to run.  

Another factor that pushed Mr. García toward retirement is that he and his wife just formally adopted their 8-year-old grandson. They’ve cared for him since his mother, whom Mr. García and his wife adopted from foster care when she was a young girl, died in 2023. 

“I had to be honest about what the next term would demand and what my family needed,” Mr. García said. “I saw the big picture, supporting my wife as we manage her illness, taking better care of my own health and being present for the grandson that we just adopted two weeks ago. It was a tough decision.”

Mr. García did not dispute that he advised his chief of staff Patty Garcia, who is not related to him, to run. But he said he did not collect signatures on her behalf, as Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez claimed. 

“I was shocked to be called out in a resolution on the House floor,” he said. “Voters don’t want these arguments in Congress. The voters want us to be working to help them to afford health care, rent and child care.”

Ms. Garcia is the only Democrat running for Illinois’ 4th congressional district, effectively guaranteeing her a win since the seat is considered safely blue. The Washington Times reached out to her campaign for comment.

While other Democrats could have entered the race, no one did so, perhaps because they thought the incumbent was running for reelection.

“I followed the rules of Illinois and its election law when the ballot was open for anyone to file, as they had over the past six years and the four times that I stood for election,” Mr. García said.

Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez said her resolution was not designed to adjudicate state election law, just to condemn the move. 

“Legality is smaller than morality,” she said. “And the question at hand is, do we condone a subversion of an election because it is playing by the rules?”

Her resolution formally disapproves of Mr. García directing his chief of staff to run in his place and “undermining the process of a free and fair election.”

“Representative García’s actions are beneath the dignity of his office and incompatible with the spirit of the United States Constitution,” the resolution reads. 

Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, California Democrat, said she was “appalled at the hubris behind all of this.”

“If this is not a question of legality, if this is not a question of state law, then what is it a question of?” she said, calling Mr. García a “legend” in Chicago and the Congress. 

“I don’t understand why we are having to debate him,” Ms. Kamlager-Dove said. “This is character assassination.”

Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez said she likes Mr. García and believes his reasons for retiring are “noble,” but the debate is not about his character or his work in Congress. 

“The question is, do you have the right to choose your successor?” she said. 

Democratic leaders moved on Monday night to kill the resolution. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez secured the support of all Republicans and one fellow Democrat, Maine Rep. Jared Golden, to defeat that motion, teeing up a final vote for Tuesday afternoon. 

The House held debate on the measure Monday night. No one joined Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez in arguing in favor of the resolution. 

She did draw applause from some Republicans in the chamber when she said: “This is not who we are as a country. People bled and died for the right to elect their own representative.”

Rep. Delia Ramirez, Illinois Democrat, pointed to the GOP applause as proof Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez’s resolution “is nothing more than a cheap political stunt pulled from the playbook of some of my Republican colleagues.”

“It is a do-nothing resolution that targets a leader who has been holding the line in defense of democracy, someone who is not beholden to Super PACs like foreign lobbies or big oil,” she said. 

Ms. Ramirez also praised Mr. García for siding with “working families and our democracy” through his votes. She said Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez has at times sided with the Trump administration and “opened the doors to authoritarianism by the way she votes.”

“You don’t have to agree with how the events of his decision to step down unfolded to recognize that this resolution is misguided and disingenuous,” Ms. Ramirez said. “Disapproving of his actions while you allow big money in politics, outside spending in elections and rampant corruption to go unchallenged or uninterrupted is the height of hypocrisy.”

Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez said Democrats can fight the Trump administration and the political system on other issues without excusing Mr. García’s behavior. 

“We also have to call a spade a spade, and that’s what this is about, accountability,” she said. 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, New York Democrat, asked during a press conference Monday if he thought it was wrong for Mr. García to hold off announcing his retirement until the last minute so his chief of staff could replace him on the ballot, avoided a direct answer.

Mr. Jeffries said Americans and House Democrats are focused on “the affordability crisis” and that he opposes the resolution of disapproval filed against Mr. García. 

“I strongly support Congressman Chuy García,” he said. “He’s been a progressive champion in disenfranchised communities for decades, including during his time in Congress, and he’s made life better for the American people.”

Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez did receive support for her position from Sen. Andy Kim, New Jersey Democrat and former House lawmaker, who called Mr. García’s move “undemocratic.”

“Standing against corruption means standing up no matter which political party violates,” Mr. Kim said on social media. “The House should condemn and steps need to be taken to restore the people’s right to choose.”