Patty Judge’s struggles to connect with her party’s voters are well-documented. Last week, Judge made the critical error of skipping out on a primary debate, a move described as “spitting in the face of democracy.”
But as Judge fights to convince grassroots Democrats that she’s more than just a Washington-backed mouthpiece, she might have just suffered major self-inflicted damage. It appears that Judge actually missed multiple debates because she was on a west coast fundraising swing with the DSCC and other establishment power players.
On the evening of May 12, Judge skipped a debate in Grinnell due to “scheduling conflicts.” The next day, the political group EmergeAmerica tweeted a picture of Judge with Democrat Senators and other establishment candidates at an event in San Francisco.
Judge was also spotted the following day, May 14, at a DSCC event in Seattle.
Judge then missed the next scheduled Democrat primary debate on May 16 without offering a reason.
So did Patty Judge bail on two debates, turning her back on Iowa voters and “spitting in the face of Democracy” so she could rub elbows with establishment elites on the west coast? It wouldn’t be the first time Judge preferred to spend time with Democrat power players rather than talking to Iowa voters.
Where will Judge turn up next? If history is any guide, it probably won’t be on the campaign trail in Iowa. Oh well. It’s not like she has to win over any skeptical voters.