House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to dismiss an effort to contest the results of the Iowa 2nd Congressional District.
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) eeked out a victory over Democrat Rita Hart by just six votes. However, Hart has appealed the race to the Democrat-controlled House as she claims there are uncounted votes that could change the outcome of the election.
In a letter to Pelosi on Monday, McCarthy wrote, “All votes have been counted, and Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks won her election. Not only did Dr. Miller-Meeks not trail in any officially reported count, but she also continued to lead following a recount conducted by bipartisan recount boards, which included a member from each campaign and an agreed upon third party.”
“On November 30, 2020, the bipartisan State Canvassing Board voted unanimously to certify Congresswoman Miller-Meeks as the winner. Then, on January 3, 2021, you seated Congresswoman Miller-Meeks as a Member of Congress with support from every Democratic Member,” he continued.
“Yet Rita Hart has contested the results of Iowa’s free and fair election with the Committee on House Administration, which is made up of twice as many Democrats as Republicans. In fact, Contestant Hart purposefully skipped Iowa’s impartial courts and moved directly to this Democrat-controlled committee, stating it was ‘the only way to get the result we need.'”
McCarthy noted that the Constitution gives Congress the “authority to determine its own members,” but he claimed it would be “unprecedented and antithetical to our democracy to unseat the duly elected and certified winner of a state election simply because you have the majority.”
He also claimed Pelosi is trying to “manipulate this contest in order to guarantee a win for Contestant Hart” by “inventing brand-new procedure that violates federal law and your own rules.”
Finally, he said, “I urge you to put your faith in our democracy and dismiss this partisan contest. While you may have the ability through force of majority vote to disenfranchise Iowa voters and replace their selection with your own, Iowa’s voters, the American people, and every duly-elected Representative serving in this 117th Congress with the same certifications and credentials that Congresswoman Miller-Meeks, you, and I have deserve better.”
Politico reports that the effort to overturn the election and un-seat Miller-Meek has been “been blessed by the top echelons of House Democratic leadership.”
But not every Democrat is on board.
Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) tweeted last week, “Losing a House election by six votes is painful for Democrats. But overturning it in the House would be even more painful for America. Just because a majority can, does not mean a majority should.”
