A Democrat representing a swing House district that could prove crucial for both parties in this year’s election is remaining silent over calls from within the nation’s largest teachers union to rescind its endorsement of President Biden over the war in Gaza.
Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., a former teacher and National Education Association (NEA) member, first ran for Congress in 2018 with the backing of the union, specifically its president, Becky Pringle, who campaigned for her.
However, the congresswoman has yet to publicly speak out on the organized effort from within the union to halt the Biden endorsement until there is a permanent cease-fire in Gaza.
Hayes’ office also didn’t respond to Fox News Digital’s multiple requests for comment concerning the effort and whether she believed the NEA should continue its support for Biden.
Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., and President Biden. (Getty Images)
According to a January report by The Nation, a faction of rank-and-file NEA members are demanding the union’s endorsement of Biden for re-election this year to be revoked until the president “secures a ‘permanent cease-fire,’ stops ‘sending military funding, equipment, and intelligence to Israel,’ and commits ‘to a fair due process for asylum-seekers and refugees.’”
The report said a petition circulating within the union says signatories will withhold their voluntary donations to the group’s political action committee, the arm of the organization that supports candidates running for office.
“As a Palestinian American, it hurts,” one union member told the outlet, “because our union has been very focused on racial and social justice, and supporting him when he is not only funding but also sending weapons killing my people sends me the message that we don’t matter and that we are collateral damage and that’s OK.”
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, speaks during MoveOn’s national Banned Bookmobile tour launch at Sandmeyer’s Bookstore July 13, 2023, in Chicago. (Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for MoveOn)
Hayes narrowly won re-election by just over 2,000 votes in the 2022 midterms, and the seat is likely to be a top target for Republicans as they aim to maintain and expand their majority in the House of Representatives.
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Hayes is running unopposed in the Democratic primary, while her 2022 opponent, former Republican state Sen. George Logan, is hoping for a general election rematch in November. His only opponent in the GOP primary is public sector worker Michelle Botelho.
Election analysts largely view the race as leaning Democratic.