A defiant former U.S. Rep. Joe Baca bashed the woman who unseated him in 2012 as a "bimbo" after her Tuesday announcement that she was ditching Congress after just one term.
Baca tossed the slur at Democratic
Rep. Gloria Negrete McLeod — who says she wants to run for a seat on California's San Bernadino County Board of Supervisors — and then railed at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, headed by Rep. Steve Israel of New York, and Michael Bloomberg for meddling in local politics.
"They conspired to work against me" in the 2012 race, he told
The Hill on Tuesday, saying "they'd turn around and do the same" in his current bid for the 31st District seat being vacated by retiring Republican Rep. Gary Miller.
"Look at what we wound up with: some bimbo who decided not to run again," he said. "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."
Negrete McLeod declined to comment — and Baca later apologized.
"I was just upset the district lost a representative in a short period of time," Baca told The Hill. "To me, that's a disservice to the area. I do apologize for my poor choice of words."
Emily's List, which supports pro-choice female candidates, blasted the "bimbo" insult as a repeat of a 2007 slur in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, where Baca was accused of calling another member a "whore,"
The Hill reported.
Baca lost his race to Negrete McLeod in part because then-New York City Mayor Bloomberg spent almost $3 million attacking him on environmental and gun issues, The Hill reported. The DCCC is backing another candidate in the 31st District race.
Baca insisted his old foe's political plans have "no bearing" on his own.
"I've already made my decision to run in the 31st, which is my old district and a vacancy," he told The Hill. "There's no incumbent in that seat, I'm a veteran with a proven track record, and experience and seniority matters."
He also disputed the criticism by Emily's List, saying his comments didn't represent a pattern or problem.
“I've supported many individuals and I've supported a congressional person running in the 31st seat that's a woman," he said. "I supported Gloria when she ran for the Assembly and worked for me, my old chief of staff was the first Hispanic woman chief of staff in history, so that's not true.”
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