MoveOn Announces 7-Figure Program to Win Back House

By admin. Monday, April 17 2023

Launches New Report Showing Vulnerable Swing District Members Voting in Lockstep with Marjorie Taylor Greene

WASHINGTON – As reported today in Politico’s Morning Score, MoveOn Political Action unveiled a core part of its 2024 political program to win back the House. The group is targeting 18 vulnerable Republican House members from districts Biden carried in 2020—deemed the
“Complicit Caucus.” The seven-figure program involves high-level organizing efforts with its 600,000+ members in these districts. MoveOn members will mobilize in-district to engage in actions, constituent office visits, relational organizing, phonebanking, canvassing, texting, and other events with allies. MoveOn will also pursue polling, research, paid media, and social media campaigning to flip these districts. 

Kicking off the program is the release of a new analysis of key votes from the first 100 days of the 118th Congress, which shows that the 18 House Republicans from swing districts Biden carried in 2020 have voted in lockstep with Marjorie Taylor Greene.

“While these House members try to pass themselves off as moderates to their constituents and the media, they are in fact enabling and pushing the MAGA agenda in Washington,” said MoveOn Executive Director Rahna Epting. “They are the Complicit Caucus, voting with the radical right wing and causing real damage to our families, communities, and country.” 

The 18 House Republicans Representing Swing Districts that Biden Won in 2020

Rep. Don Bacon (NE-2)
Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-5)
Rep. Juan Ciscomani (AZ-6)
Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (NY-4)
Rep. John Duarte (CA-13)
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1)
Rep. Mike Garcia (CA-27)
Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. (NJ-07)
Rep. Jen Kiggans (VA-2)
Rep. Young Kim (CA-40)
Rep. Nicholas LaLota (NY-1)
Rep. Michael Lawler (NY-17)
Rep. Marcus Molinaro (NY-19)
Rep. George Santos (NY-3)
Rep. David Schweikert (AZ-1)
Rep. Michelle Steel (CA-45)
Rep. David Valadao (CA-22)
Rep. Brandon Williams (NY-22)

Voting Record

MoveOn’s analysis focused on 36 key votes the 118th Congress took on House governance (leadership, rules, committees) and on final passage legislation that deeply divided the chamber. Voting behavior not included in this analysis includes procedural votes (motions to recommit, suspend the rules, or adjourn; ordering the previous question; quorum), votes on amendments, and votes on legislation that passed with sweeping bipartisan support, such as The PRC is Not a Developing Country Act. 

A review of these 36 key votes finds that the 18 House Republicans from swing districts that Biden carried in 2022 voted 100% with ultra-MAGA Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene on 32 of them (see chart below). Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick from southeastern Pennsylvania broke from Rep. Greene and the rest of the swing district Republicans three times, and Rep. Mike Lawler from the Westchester suburbs of New York broke from Rep. Greene and the rest of the swing district Republicans once. 

• All 18 swing district House members sided with Rep. Greene to elect Kevin McCarthy speaker, despite the numerous concessions he made to the radical right wing of the Republican party.
• All 18 swing district House members voted with Rep. Greene to gut the House ethics rules and let corrupt congressional colleagues go unchecked. 
• All 18 swing district House members voted with Rep. Greene to slash funding for the IRS and allow wealthy tax cheats to go undetected.
• All 18 swing district House members voted with Rep. Greene to set up a Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government in order to launch a shameless January 6 counter investigation. It’s an idea that MTG convinced Speaker McCarthy of in order to “tell the other side of the story.”
• All 18 swing district House members voted with Rep. Greene for a pair of anti-abortion measures.
• All 18 swing district House members voted with Rep. Greene to allow more drilling on public lands.
• All 18 swing district House members voted with Rep. Greene on four bills to undermine COVID protections. Rep. Fitzpatrick was the sole Republican to vote against a fifth COVID bill aimed at ending COVID telework options for federal workers. 
• All 18 swing district House members voted with Rep. Greene to overturn the criminal justice reform and voting rights measures passed by the democratically elected D.C. City Council.
• All 18 swing district House members voted with Rep. Greene to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, a baseless and bigoted vote that was political retribution for Reps. Greene and Paul Gosar being removed from committees for inciting violence against Democrats. 
• All 18 swing district House members voted with Rep. Greene to block investment plan managers from taking into account environmental and social factors in their investment decisions. 
• 16 swing district House members voted with Rep. Greene to block the Biden administration from applying the Clean Water Act to wetlands and other waterways. Rep. Fitzpatrick was the sole Republican vote against this resolution. Arizona Rep. David Schweikert did not vote. 
• 17 swing district House members voted with Rep. Greene to further enable far-right groups pushing for book bans and harmful new restrictions on transgender students. Rep. Lawler voted against this bill, along with four other Republicans.  
• 17 swing district House members voted with Rep. Greene to pass a sweeping energy package that would undo virtually all of the climate change legislation Democrats passed last year. Rep. Fitzpatrick was the sole House Republican to vote against this legislation.

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MoveOn is a people-powered force for progress. MoveOn mobilizes the left to elect Democrats and enact progressive change. We are the homebase for millions of members who refuse to accept the status quo and are moved to take action. For more than a generation, MoveOn has been a bulwark against the radical right, channeling our voices to end wars, protect democracy, and advance justice for all.