Clue ~ there's a reason for that ~
No, there was no excuse for it. Democrats wouldn’t have done so had there been a special election for a prominent GOP member. When Dennis Hastert resigned, they went into that solid GOP district and snatched it (a district that had only gone Democrat once since after 1934, in the Watergate landslide). Steele willfully ignored an excellent, articulate candidate. A Hispanic woman, pro-life, pro-borders, a solid Conservative. Precisely the kind of candidate the party needs to run more of and expand appeal. He should’ve been fired before the year (2009) was out.