Democrat freshman US Rep Sean Casten (IL-06) endorsed Joe Biden for president Friday, and pointed to the Leftist groups that have stepped forward to endorse Casten in the November 2020 election.
"As a freshman member I am keenly aware of the power of strong, diverse coalitions. For that reason, I am proud to announce my support for @JoeBiden." Casten tweeted last Friday. "Joe has the empathy and the heart to unite our party, our country — and he has experience and the tenacity to get it done. – SC"
Republican Jeanne Ives, who is vying in the March 17th primary to face off with Casten in November said Casten isn't the independent outside he campaigned as in 2018 against incumbent GOP Congressman Peter Roskam.
"In 2018, Sean Casten campaigned as an independent, political outsider. But Casten fell in line with his party bosses quickly upon arriving in Washington DC," Ives said in a statement. "Over the past year, he has voted with 100% of the time with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He has also refused to use his platform to stand up to the rampant corruption in his own state party.
Then Ives criticized Casten's pick for the Democrat presidential nominee – heavily-baggaged former Vice President Joe Biden. Ives listed the issues Biden will need to address if he is the Democrats' 2020 nominee.
"Equally concerning, is that Joe Biden has used his position and power in government to score lucrative deals for members of his own family – including a position on the board of a Ukrainian gas company for his son Hunter Biden, his brother James got a $1.5 billion construction contract to build homes in Iraq – which involved working with state departments and others – while Biden was Vice President, Frank Biden headed up renewable energy projects in Costa Rica and Jamaica funded with U.S. taxpayer dollars, and Biden’s son-in-law Howard Krein’s company StartUp Health was featured at conferences run by the Health and Human Services Department – and to this day features Biden as a prominent speaker," Ives said.
At the same time, Casten sent out an email to supporters boasting about Planned Parenthood, the LGBTQ-backing Human Rights Campaign and other Leftist groups endorsing him to return to Congress.
Planned Parenthood also tweeted Casten's participation in the Supreme Court protest in which US Senator Chuck Schumer threatened US Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch with "paying the price" if they voted against an abortion case coming before the court.
