A top supporter of Dennis Kucinich's rumored congressional run in Washington State attacked a statement critical of Kucinich by the state Democrats' chairman as "name-calling" today.
In a conversation with BuzzFeed, David Spring, a board member of the state party's progressive caucus and head of Washington Citizens for Kucinich, said that he was "really disappointed that our state party leader has failed to do his research both about the existing candidates and Dennis' background." The state chair Dwight Pelz said that "We just don't want Dennis Kucinich" and that Kucinich would be remembered as a "narcissist" if he ran and lost in Washington.
His words were "loud and baseless accusations and name calling," said Spring. "I think Dwight is entitled to his opinion about whether Dennis will win or lose, but he's not entitled to engage in name calling." Spring admitted that he and Pelz have had "minor disagreements" over the years.
He flagged a past comment by Pelz calling Kucinich a "carpetbagger" as nothing short of "a violation of Dennis' constitutional rights."
"Dwight owes Dennis and the voters an apology and for that matter he owes the state Democratic Party an apology."
Kucinich lost his Congressional seat in a primary last month to Toledo-area Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur after redistricting. He has publicly toyed with the idea of moving to Washington State and running for Congress there, most recently sending supporters an online poll to gauge their interest in the potential run.
Kucinich's spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.