BAKERSFIELD—Congressional candidate and moderate democrat TJ Cox made waves on Wednesday afternoon when he incorrectly used the retirement announcement from U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy to slam his opponent in a now-deleted campaign tweet from his official Twitter account.
The now-deleted tweet from Cox’s official campaign Twitter account read, “Justice Kennedy retiring from #SCOTUS makes it painfully clear: Elections matter. Republicans like @RepDavidValadao will try to reshape the Court . . .”
Some were quick to point out Cox’s embarrassing mistake on understanding the Constitution, including opponent Rep. David Valadao‘s Campaign Manager, Alex Tavlian, retweeting Cox’s now-deleted tweet, “The 👏🏼 House 👏🏼 Does 👏🏼 Not Advise 👏🏼 Or 👏🏼 Consent.” (Hand-clap emoji preserved for context).
Tavlian, an attorney, is correct. Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution provides authority only to the Senate to advise and consent on the President’s Supreme Court nominees, not the House chamber.
Cox is running for Congress in California’s 21st District (Hanford, Bakersfield) and made the run-off in the June 2018 primary, challenging incumbent Rep. Valadao. Sources close to The Daily Fold claim that although Cox may use progressive positions for his campaign, he has allegedly previously moved around nearby districts in order to be a reliable speakership/leadership vote for moderate establishment democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, if he were to win. It is important to note, however, that the Constitution does not require congressional candidates to live in their respective districts they campaign in or represent.
If Cox wins the CA-21 race, he will swear an oath to uphold and protect the Constitution. Hopefully he reads it at some point before that.
(Editors’ Note—Calls left to Cox’s campaign were unsuccessful, however The Daily Fold will update this article if Cox’s campaign provides a response after press-time.)
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