--- title: James Comey Wants Americans to Vote Democratic in November description: The former FBI Director is urging Americans to vote for the Democratic party in the upcoming midterm elections canonical: https://time.com/5341713/comey-vote-democrat/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-07-18T12:36:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T20:53:02.696Z article:section: Politics og:title: 'History Has its Eyes on Us.' James Comey Wants Americans to Vote for Democrats This November og:description: The former FBI Director is urging Americans to vote for the Democratic party in the upcoming midterm elections og:url: https://time.com/5341713/comey-vote-democrat/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6892cce55e5c2fd/69892b45fb4eaccc8f896106/jamescomeybook-em-915811394.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5537 og:image:height: 3115 og:image:alt: James Comey Before Senate Intelligence Committee og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'History Has its Eyes on Us.' James Comey Wants Americans to Vote for Democrats This November twitter:description: The former FBI Director is urging Americans to vote for the Democratic party in the upcoming midterm elections twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6892cce55e5c2fd/69892b45fb4eaccc8f896106/jamescomeybook-em-915811394.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'History Has its Eyes on Us.' James Comey Wants Americans to Vote for Democrats This November > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jul 18, 2018 12:36 PM UTC  Former FBI Director James Comey testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Washington DC, June 8, 2017. Former FBI Director James Comey testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Washington DC, June 8, 2017. Mark Reinstein—Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jul 18, 2018 12:36 PM UTC Former FBI Director [James Comey](http://time.com/5312394/inspector-general-james-comey-michael-horowitz/) — at one point a registered Republican — is urging Americans to vote for the Democratic party in the upcoming midterm elections this November, claiming that the current Republican Congress failed to live up to the country’s founding ideals. “This Republican Congress has proven incapable of fulfilling the Founders’ design that “Ambition must … counteract ambition,” Comey wrote in a tweet Monday night. “All who believe in this country’s values must vote for Democrats this fall. Policy differences don’t matter right now. History has its eyes on us.” > [](https://twitter.com/Comey/status/1019398962019819520) Comey, a veteran of the George W. Bush and Obama Administrations who also served as Trump’s FBI director for nearly four months until his [controversial termination,](http://time.com/4773873/james-comey-fired-whats-next/) said during Congressional testimony in 2016 that he had been a longtime registered Republican, but that he no longer affiliated with the party. Comey didn’t explain his Twitter plea, aside from his dissatisfaction with the current Republican Congress. The tweet comes as President Donald Trump finds himself embroiled in controversy over his refusal during a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin to accept the assessment from the U.S. intelligence community that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Comey was head of the FBI when the organization launched its probe on this topic. Although Congressional Republicans rebuked Trump’s remarks, they have largely stayed silent since Trump said he misspoke by using the word “would” instead of “wouldn’t,” an explanation Democrats deemed wholly unsatisfactory. But Comey’s disappointment with the Republican party has been longstanding. In February, he called the memo authorized by the Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee that alleged the FBI was biased when investigating the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia “[dishonest and misleading.”](http://time.com/5131668/james-comey-nunes-memo/) In April, during his publicity blitz in anticipation of his new book, Comey told ABC News that, while there are still some Republicans he respects, he couldn’t associate with the party as a whole because it had shred its core values in deference to Trump. (That same month, the Republican National Committee launched a website, [lyincomey.com](https://lyincomey.com/), to challenge his public statements) “It doesn’t reflect values at all. It’s transactional, it’s ego-driven, it’s in service to \[Trump’s\] ego,” [Comey told the network.](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/comey-republican-party-left/story?id=54535829) “And it’s, I think, consoling itself that we’re going to achieve important policy goals — a tax cut or something.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5341713/comey-vote-democrat/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5341713/comey-vote-democrat/"},"headline":"'History Has its Eyes on Us.' 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