Griffith To Become GOPer
By Reid Wilson
Freshman Rep. Parker Griffith will announce later this afternoon that he will run for re-election as a GOPer, sources confirm to Hotline OnCall.
Griffith will hold a press conference at 1pm Central Time in his district in AL, a GOP source said, to announce his decision.
The news, first reported by Politico, comes as a blow to House Dems, who are already fighting to stem a slowly growing number of retirements. The defection will raise new questions about GOP chances to take over the House next year.
Griffith was narrowly elected in a northern AL district that gave Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) a 61%-38% win over Pres. Obama. He replaced retiring Rep. Bud Cramer (D), and he has charted a largely conservative course during his first term, going as far as to say he would not vote for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during biennial leadership elections.
Griffith voted against health care reform legislation, against cap and trade and against the economic stimulus measure passed in Feb. But he voted with Dems to expand children's health insurance programs and for the second TARP measure.
The move has to be especially galling to the DCCC, which invested more than $1.2M in keeping the seat in Dem hands. The party spent heavily on Griffith's election bid, and he has benefited from thousands in contributions that have passed through the DCCC because he is a member of the Frontline Program for vulnerable incumbents.
The NRCC spent $591K on behalf of GOP nominee Wayne Parker.
The move is likely to cost Griffith thousands of dollars as well. At least 21 Dem members have contributed to his campaign, and all are expected to seek a refund. Griffith also received contributions from the Blue Dog PAC and the New Dem PAC, as well as from WH CoS Rahm Emanuel's PAC.
Dem sources said Griffith had not told his staff of his impending switch by the time news broke. Many party switchers have seen staffers walk out en masse after they defect.
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