Despite a national Republican recruiting effort, former MLB pitcher Roger Clemens publicly brushed off his GOP scouts
Roger Clemens is out of the ballgame and the GOP bullpen is weak.
After Congressman Pete Olson’s exit began the string of retirements known as “Texodus,” elections forecasters shifted the Houston-area seat away from the GOP – ranking it as a toss-up.
It also meant that it was time for Washington Republicans to go scouting for a candidate. A name emerged from their cornfield of despair: Roger Clemens.
(Never mind the fact that Clemens was charged by a federal grand jury for lying to Congress.)
But, as Tuesday’s ESPN report reveals, Clemens had no interest in Washington Republicans’ overtures – and his letter obtained by ABC News confirms the efforts to recruit him into the race.
Meanwhile, Republicans’ two best-known candidates in TX-22 are Greg Hill, who previously spoke out against the Loving v. Virginia case that legalized interracial marriage, and Kathaleen Wall, a 2018 also-ran who lit $6 million of her own money on fire and underperformed expectations to finish in third place.
Swing and a miss, Washington Republicans.
“Washington Republicans struck out again with their failed recruitment of Roger Clemens and their bullpen is weak after a string of Republican retirements,” DCCC Spokesperson Avery Jaffe said. “Democrats have focused on this toss-up district since day one of the 2020 election cycle and already have organizers on the ground laying the groundwork for victory in Texas.”
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