Tulsi Gabbard: Campaigning with Republican not a move towards joining GOP, says ‘I’m an independent’ | REUTERS
This photo taken with her husband, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, shows her campaigning in Seattle, Seattle, Washingon, where she was campaigning for Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress in next week’s midterm elections. (Chip Somodevilla/Pool via Reuters)
(Reuters) – The Democratic congressional campaigns of U.S. representatives Tulsi Gabbard and Eric Swalwell are “completely unrelated,” Democratic candidate Beto O’Rourke told voters in an email on Saturday.
“Both of these candidates are running to serve the people of their congressional districts in a completely different way than the Republican candidate running in their race.”
Gabbard, the congresswoman from Hawaii has been campaigning for the Democratic nomination in the November midterms. She is challenging U.S. senator Doug Jones’ Democratic opponent Mattfacck in the special election to replace the late Republican senator John McCain, who died in August.
The congresswoman had urged voters to vote for her in the primary and run to replace Jones in November’s general election “by any means necessary.”
In a statement to Reuters on Saturday, Gabbard said the “Republican candidate for Congress” referred to Gabbard is a Republican campaign strategist. She is focusing on the race as she fights to protect the Affordable Care Act, with a focus on providing affordable health care for all Americans, she said.
“I’m in this race to make sure that every American has access to health care in a way that meets all their needs. Right now, our health care system is broken, and too often people are forced into terrible situations by going without health care,” Gabbard said in the statement.
“Health care should be something we all take for granted. We can’t afford to delay it any longer, and we can’t afford to lose it. It’s the right thing to do for our families, for all Americans, and for our country,” she said.
Boehner, a House of Representatives member, backed out of his scheduled meeting with Gabbard on Tuesday to campaign for O’Rourke