The political arms of two influential Democratic caucuses removed Ohio candidate Brian Poindexter from their endorsement list in the days around his closely watched House election win.
Blue Dog PAC, the campaign wing of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition, listed Poindexter among their endorsees as of Oct. 28, and Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC listed him as of Nov. 1, according to webpages cached by the Internet Archive.
It was an unusual feat to earn backing from the two groups, who are seen as representing opposite poles of the House Democratic Caucus. But now neither group lists Poindexter, who defeated embattled GOP Rep. Max Miller in a Cleveland-area district, among their endorsees.
The removals are especially notable given Poindexter’s victory in a high-profile race that garnered headlines due to allegations of domestic abuse against Miller, which he has denied.
Members and aides connected to the two groups did not offer answers about what happened. Spokespeople for Blue Dog PAC and CPC PAC did not return requests for comment.
Two Progressive Caucus leaders, Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Greg Casar of Texas, declined to comment when asked about the endorsements Wednesday on Capitol Hill.
Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, a senior Blue Dogs member, spoke only briefly Wednesday: “I don't have much to say about it. We decided that it’s not a good fit.”
When asked about the endorsements during a brief interview on Capitol Hill, Poindexter said Tuesday, “My main focus right now is just setting up my office and stuff. There could be time to join ideological caucuses.”
Poindexter did not deny that his name was removed: “I just said I wanted to hold off before I join up a caucus. I wanted to hold off a little while.”
He added, “Nothing to read into that. Just, I’m waiting to learn the political landscape.”
Chris Marquette contributed to this report.
