Democrats Reverse Course After Punishing Congresswoman Who Called For Biden to Drop Out of the Race

Michigan Democrats apparently retaliated against Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) after she became one of the growing number of people calling for President Joe Biden to exit his reelection bid. Then, in less than 24 hours, they changed their minds.

Politico reported on Thursday that Scholten “was booted last week from a coordinated effort between the Biden campaign and the state party to elect candidates up and down the ticket, according to four people with knowledge of the situation, who were granted anonymity to speak candidly about private discussions.” Scholten appeared on CNN on Friday to explain why she no longer supported Biden.

On Wednesday, Politico’s Sarah Ferris , Ally Mutnick , and Elena Schneider reported that their outlet contacted the Biden campaign themselves for details on the move against Scholten, who flipped a Republican seat in the crucial swing state in 2022. And by Thursday, they announced that Scholten was still in the game:

“Rep. Scholten is welcome at the coordinated campaign and we look forward to campaigning with her this fall,” said Mia Ehrenberg , a spokesperson for the Biden campaign, when asked about Scholten’s removal from the coordinated campaign.

The Biden campaign also denied having any involvement in the decision to retaliate against Scholten, an accusation made by “a Democratic operative who’s worked on competitive House races.”

Michigan Democrats did not provide a comment to Politico, however “two people familiar with discussions said Scholten had specifically infuriated state leaders when she spoke out against Biden — on the same day that the president was already visiting Michigan — without informing them of her plans, according to the two people.”

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