House Republicans have spent this week debating who should be the next Speaker of the House after a small group of extremists initiated the ousting of McCarthy last week. I’m here to tell you that the way things are going, no matter who Republicans end up choosing — we can expect we’re just going to get McCarthy 2.0, or even worse.
The current options for Speaker are a litany of extremists who support national bans on abortion, voted against certifying the results of the 2020 election, have ties to the KKK and neo-Nazi groups, and have damaged our democracy — deliberately.
And that’s all you need to know about the state of the Republican Party.
So again, if Republicans are interested in governing, I welcome them to join Democrats and vote for Hakeem Jeffries for Speaker of the House so we can get to work on passing legislation that helps the people who sent us here.
Meanwhile, I’m going to continue doing what the people of Massachusetts’ 7th district sent me here to do: advance policies that center marginalized communities, and fight back against legislation that intends to inflict harm. If you’re able, please donate $10.00 or anything you can to resist Republican extremism and power our movement for a more just world.
Rep.-elect Carol Glanville (left) and Robert Regan (right) | Twitter photos
Democrat Carol Glanville beat far-right Republican Robert Regan in a special state House election Tuesday, flipping a heavily red district in the state Legislature.
Regan lost the support of some of the Republican establishment after he said that he tells his daughters that “if rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it,” called the war in Ukraine a “fake war just like the fake pandemic,” and shared a meme saying that feminism is a “Jewish program to degrade and subjugate white men.”
“My opponent’s extreme, violent, and antisemitic views have no place in state government, and tonight the people of the 74th District made clear that they won’t stand for extremism,” Glanville said.
The district includes suburbs around Grand Rapids, including Grandville, Rockford and Walker.
Republicans have held the current 74th House District since it was drawn following the 2010 census. Former President Donald Trump won the area by nearly 16 points in 2020.
Former state Rep. Mark Huizenga (R-Walker) won a special Senate election last year, leaving the House seat vacant.
Robert Regan Facebook post on May 18, 2021
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee noted the race is its first state legislative seat flip of 2022 nationwide.
“This victory is the result of Carol Glanville’s hard work, an extremist Republican on the ballot, and Democratic enthusiasm in the wake of the potential fall of Roe,” said DLCC President Jessica Post. “Congratulations to Representative-elect Carol Glanville on this unprecedented victory. This election was a referendum on the extremism that is now the norm in the Republican Party and is clear evidence that voters are fired up about the right-wing assault on abortion rights.”
Glanville’s term will expire Dec. 31, at which point new district maps, drawn by Michigan’s Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, will go into effect.
Regan and Glanville have both filed to run in the new 84th House District for a full term in November.
Tori Sachs, executive director of the DeVos-funded Michigan Freedom Fund, said that Republicans can win the seat back in November if they nominate a less controversial candidate in August.
“Candidates matter. Voters decide,” Sachs tweeted. “We couldn’t support Regan & it’s clear voters couldn’t either. The GOP can & will pick this seat back up in November if a credible candidate is nominated in August.”
Sachs was one of numerous Republicans who had condemned Regan’s comments in the run-up to the special election, calling them “despicable & disqualifying.”
“I’m the mom of four young girls. Every day I teach them to stand up for themselves, to know what they’re worth, and to fight back against creeps like Regan,” Sachs said at the time. “RJ Regan doesn’t belong anywhere near the state Capitol and that is why we endorsed and supported his opponent.”
In a news release on Tuesday, the House Republican Campaign Committee, the official GOP House campaign arm, noted that it “chose not to participate in the race.”
My opponent’s extreme, violent, and antisemitic views have no place in state government, and tonight the people of the 74th District made clear that they won’t stand for extremism
