Prairie State Wire

Congressional candidate Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) views U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew's (D-New Jersey) decision to leave his party for the GOP as a sign of the times.

“Jeff Van Drew is a professional (dentist) in a suburban swing district who went to D.C. to address serious policy issues like health insurance,” Ives recently said in a press release. "His party won’t let him, so he’s leaving.”

Now running against U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (D-Downers Grove) in Illinois' 6th Congressional District, Ives contrasts Van Drew’s mindset with that of her opponent.  

U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-New Jersey)

“Illinois Congressman Sean Casten has lead the charge on impeachment,” Ives said of the actions the Democrat-controlled U.S. House has taken against President Donald Trump. “Casten even made a point of telling MSNBC regarding impeachment, 'What voters think should not matter.'"

In Ives' mind, Van Drew finally reached a point she is hoping more voters will soon come to for themselves.

“Van Drew realized the Democratic Party has become undemocratic,” she said. “There is no place for practical problem solvers. There is no tolerance of dissent.”

The former state representative from the 42nd District adds that things are quite different on the Republican side.

“Compare this with the GOP where criticism of Trump is done openly by any number of conservative pundits and several GOP officeholders like Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), and where disagreements on policy are publicly debated whether the topic is tariffs, tweets or troop withdrawal from Syria. It is worth noting that Van Drew didn’t move from Democrat to Independent. He moved from Democrat to Republican. That’s because the Democrats who took over the House in 2018 are unreasonable and unserious.”