This post has been updated.
Former Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA) on Tuesday said that he would not be running for retiring Rep. Gloria Negrete McLeod’s (D-CA) seat, who ousted then-incumbent Baca in the 2012 election.
“Look at what we wound up with: Some bimbo who decided not to run again,” Baca told The Hill about the election.
Baca, who is now running for the congressional seat vacated by Rep. Gary Miller (R-CA), said he would not abandon that race after McLeod announced her retirement on Tuesday.
“That has no bearing on me making any kind of decision, I’ve already made my decision to run in the 31st which is my old district and a vacancy,” Baca said. “There’s no incumbent in that seat, I’m a veteran with a proving track record and experience and seniority matters.”
He apologized for his comments about Negrete McLeod on Tuesday afternoon and called his statement a “poor choice of words.”
“I apologize for the comment I made. It was said because I was upset that a representative that just got elected is not running again. So I was just disappointed with that,” Baca told TPM.
Redlands, Calif. Mayor Pete Aguilar (D), who is running against Baca in the primary and has been endorsed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, condemned Baca’s remarks on Tuesday.
“Congressman Baca’s continued disrespect for women is outrageous. We might expect this type of behavior from House Republicans, but not from a Democrat seeking to represent Inland Empire families,” Aguilar said in a statement to TPM. “Joe Baca should be ashamed of himself.”
Baca also slammed the DCCC chairman Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for working against him in the 2012 race.
“What’s the difference? They’ve conspired to work against me in one, they’d turn around and do the same in the other, right? Would you roll the dice and hope they wouldn’t?” he asked. “Here we go again now with another New Yorker trying to tell us who’s going to be the representative of the 31st. It’s up to the people to decide.”
