Gotcha: House Dem Chuy Garcia Seals Fate After Newly Surfaced Document Undercuts His Entire Argument

We've been closely following the story out of Illinois of Democrat Rep. Jesús "Chuy" Garcia (IL-04) and how his recent retirement announcement has caused a further crumbling of the party's bogus "we're the true defenders of democracy" mantra. As we've reported, Garcia, who has been in Congress since 2019, filed to run for reelection on October 27th. Since he's an incumbent, his gerrymandered district is safely blue, and he's well-liked by his fellow Democrats, no one else filed to run in the race on either side of the aisle - except for his chief of staff, Patty Garcia (no relation), who filed just minutes before the November 3rd deadline expired. Shortly afterward, Rep. Garcia announced he'd changed his mind on running for reelection, citing health and family concerns. In an interview he gave the next day explaining his decision, he shared that it was the same day he filed to run again that he got bad news about his health. READ MORE: The Spicy 'Dems in Disarray' Drama on the House Floor Pre-Shutdown Vote You Might Have Missed On the night of the vote to reopen the government (last Wednesday), Democrat Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03) put forth a privilege resolution calling on the House to condemn Rep. Garcia for essentially rigging the system, angering her fellow Democrats at a moment when they were trying to appear unified. On Monday, a vote to table the resolution failed, and on Tuesday, the House voted in favor of the "disapproval resolution," with 23 Democrats crossing the aisle to vote with Republicans (236-183-4) in what ended up being a deeply humiliating moment not just for Garcia but for Democrat House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08), who had urged his caucus to vote against it. What may have sealed Rep. Garcia's fate among those 23 Democrats, however, was a document that was reported on ahead of the vote that showed he signed his chief of staff's nominating petition two days before she filed (and three days before his formal announcement of dropping out) and that his signature was the very first one on the petition: Rep. Chuy García has denied purposely clearing a path for his chief of staff to take his seat without facing a primary, but a document filed with Illinois elections officials shows he was the first to sign her nominating petitions, days before he announced his retirement.[...]The form is dated Nov. 1, two days before the filing deadline and three days before Chuy García formally announced his retirement. Patty Garcia ultimately filed nearly 3,000 signatures to qualify for the Democratic primary ballot. The two are not related. Hilariously, one of his fellow House Democrats who voted against the resolution said one of the reasons he didn't support the resolution was because he refused to question Rep. Garcia's "progressive credentials": “Chuy García is a legend and an icon in his community. His progressive record is unmatched here. … I will not question his progressive credentials. You know, he faced a situation, a personal situation. He acted within the framework of the law,” Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) said. Hmm. So, a member of Congress "acting within the framework of the law" to do what amounts to installing their handpicked successor by ensuring they have no opponents, is a "progressive credential" of which to be proud, apparently. Come to think of it, this IS Illinois we're talking about here, so it kinda makes sense... Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy RedState's conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Please support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth. Join RedState VIP and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!