Kinzinger slams DCCC after Meijer loss for boosting right-wing challenger

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) slammed the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in a CNN interview Wednesday for spending almost half a million dollars on an ad that boosted Republican John Gibbs' profile in his challenge against incumbent Rep. Peter Meijer (R-Mich.).

Driving the news: Meijer, one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection, lost the GOP nomination in his district to Gibbs on Tuesday night.

• Kinzinger has criticized the DCCC ad, which aligned with Gibbs' own campaign messaging, for elevating the election denier and says it contributed to Meijer's loss.

What he's saying: "Don't keep coming to me, asking where are all the good Republicans that defend democracy, and then take your donors' money and spend half a million dollars promoting one of the worst election deniers that's out there," Kinzinger told CNN.

• "If Peter's opponent wins [in November], the Democrats own that," he said. "The DCCC needs to be ashamed of themselves."

Worth noting: The Meijer-Gibbs contest is one of several races in which Democrats have meddled on behalf of far-right candidates in hopes of securing a more favorable matchup in November, Axios' Lachlan Markay reports.

The big picture: At least six of the ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump last year will not return next Congress — and that number is poised to rise.