California Dems target GOP swing seats over Speaker vote

When the clerk read the roll call three times last week, five California Republicans in swing districts found themselves contemplating either backing House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan — a divisive, far-right hardliner — or voting for someone else.

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“You have, particularly five California Republicans who have claimed to be more moderate and have claimed to want to really represent everyone, be more independent, and that just not been the case,” argued Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif. “They all voted for Jim Jordan multiple times, they voted for someone that believes in a national abortion ban, someone that does not believe LGBTQ plus people should have any rights, someone that only wants tax cuts for large corporations and billionaires. And so I think that clearly, some of these congressional members are not being honest with their constituents and with the public. They supported Jim Jordan, and that was really a shame to see.”

With election day more than a year away, it’s unclear how much this struggle by House Republicans to elect a new House Speaker will resonate in the 2024 election cycle. But until a new speaker is elected and legislative business returns to normal order, it’s likely the dysfunction of the conference will continue to dominate the news cycle.

“Hopefully, whoever the nominee is can inspire people to get behind them, even if they maybe didn't vote for him in conference and recognize that the need and the most important thing now is to fill the seat. It does need to be someone who's competent, we can speak on behalf of the entire party and keep the majority,” said Garcia.