Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s Democratic primary election rival says she cannot count on automatic support from Hillary Clinton backers.
“We’ve got plenty of people who voted for Hillary Clinton who are joining up on our campaign,” Tim Canova said on MSNBC Wednesday.
{mosads}“I’m sure Debbie Wasserman Schultz wants to believe this is a proxy fight completely and she can count on every Hillary Clinton supporter,” he added. “She’ll be sorely mistaken if that’s her belief.”
Canova on Wednesday said that Wasserman Schultz’s ties with wealthy special interests would give Clinton supporters pause.
“She’s taken millions of dollars in corporate money from the largest banks and the largest corporations,” he said. “On issue after issue, she’s on the wrong side of it.”
“There’s always this perception now that she’s got a price and that it’s the constituents who pay the price for her own ambition. She’s unreliable,” he added.
Canova said Wasserman Schultz has mishandled the Democratic electoral process while leading the DNC.
“When you start allowing corporate lobbyists to be superdelegates, what does that say about this kind of democracy?” he said. “This kind of rigging of the system is not confined to the national level. It is happening right here in our own district and our own race.”
Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has repeatedly criticized Wasserman Schultz’s role in the heated contest for the party’s nomination.
He endorsed Canova last weekend in the race for Florida’s 23rd congressional district.
“Well, clearly, I favor her opponent,” he said on CNN. “His views are much closer to mine than as to Wasserman Schultz’s.”
Canova’s campaign on Monday announced it had raised more than $250,000 after Sanders’s endorsement.
The Hill on Tuesday reported that some Democrats are debating whether Wasserman Schultz should abandon her role at the DNC.
Critics say Wasserman Schultz’s leadership is hindering Democratic unity heading into the convention and general election.