Democrats trying to unseat each other II

[lpetrich]

In honor of the end of the last campaign season and the start of a new one for the midterms, I have decided to create a new thread. I'm also doing this to avoid creating a very big thread.

The original one: Democrats trying to unseat each other

Already in the race:
Mckayla Wilkes on Twitter: "Happy New Year! I'm excited to announce that we're preparing for a second run in MD-05. Now more than ever, working class people deserve a seat at the table. If you're interested in being part of a historic team, fill this form out and let's get to work! (links)" / Twitter

She will be trying again against Steny Hoyer, the House Majority Leader.


Trying for a different office:
Lindsey Boylan on Twitter: "I’m running for Manhattan Borough President to create a more equitable, sustainable, and livable city. Although we have many challenges ahead, I know that we can meet those challenges together and create lasting change for our city. Join me on this journey! (link)" / Twitter

She lost against Jerry Nadler in NY-10. She describes herself: "Mom. Progressive New Yorker fighting 4 a Livable City. Fmr State Govt Official & Urban Planner. Candidate 4 Manhattan Borough Prez. (She/Her)"

 

[lpetrich]

McKayla Wilkes lost in the June 2 primary for MD-05:
Steny Hoyer (incumbent): 64.4%, Mckayla Wilkes 26.7%, Vanessa Marie Hoffman 4.2%, Briana Urbina (unofficially withdrew) 2.7%, William Devine III 1.9%

Another one in the race is Vote Salazar for Congress 2022 | Aug 2nd | MO 5 - that site still hurts my eyes. She lost last year:
Emanuel Cleaver (incumbent) 85.3%, Maite Salazar 14.7%

In post #526 of the old thread, I'd collected the vote fractions that some candidates got and what previous elected experience that they had.

Jessica Cisneros - TX-28 - 48.20% - the best number, and someone with no previous experience. She is followed by 4 others with experience, then 7 without experience, then 1 with experience, then the rest, 17 without experience.

 

[Jarhyn]

Just to get in on the ground floor of thread 2 to explain why this is an important effort, and why it edifies and improves the democratic party to primary incumbents: the democrat party is not to be the party of "kiss the ring and become as we are and Wait Your Turn". Instead, it is the party of principles and the big tent. We are not supposed to be focused on conserving that which is, but rather liberally advancing towards that which is better than we are today. That does not happen when you don't circulate in new ideas and let them either find their platform or fall on their face.

TL;DR: Without circulation, the body rots. While that may be a feature of the republican party, it's certainly not one I wish to encourage of my own.

 

[lpetrich]

Just to get in on the ground floor of thread 2 to explain why this is an important effort, and why it edifies and improves the democratic party to primary incumbents: the democrat party is not to be the party of "kiss the ring and become as we are and Wait Your Turn". ...

I agree. Primarying incumbents has been a rather controversial strategy, but it can have an impact. The Tea Party moved the Republican Party in its direction during the Obama years, even though it was not very successful in primarying incumbents. But it did have one big success: Dave Brat beating Eric Cantor in 2014. EC had been in the House for 14 years, and when he was ousted, he was House Majority Leader.

Let's look at some progressive successes over the last five years.

• 2016 Ro Khanna CA-17 - primaried incumbent - Mike Honda 16 yrs
• 2016 Pramila Jayapal WA-07 - open seat
• 2018 AOC NY-14 - primaried incumbent - Joe Crowley 20 yrs - head of Democratic Caucus
• 2018 Ayanna Pressley MA-07 - primaried incumbent - Michael Capuano 20 yrs
• 2018 Rashida Tlaib MI-13 - open seat
• 2018 Ilhan Omar MN-05 - open seat
• 2018 Katie Porter CA-45 - defeated R incumbent - Mimi Walters 4 yrs
• 2020 Marie Newman IL-03 - primaried incumbent - Dan Lipinski 16 yrs
• 2020 Jamaal Bowman NY-16 - primaried incumbent - Eliot Engel 32 yrs - head of Foreign Relations Cmte
• 2020 Mondaire Jones NY-17 - open seat
• 2020 Cori Bush MO-01 - primaried incumbent - Lacy Clay 20 yrs

• Primaried incumbent: 6
• Open seat: 4
• Defeated R incumbent: 1
• Total: 11

 

[lpetrich]

There were a lot of failures in unseating incumbents, however. Some of the failing candidates returned to run again, and some of them succeeded. Ro Khanna, Marie Newman, and Cori Bush, for instance.


Nina Turner is running for the House seat OH-11. She's a former Ohio State Senator and Bernie Sanders campaigner -- and an inspiring speaker. But some on the Left are objecting to her running as a Democrat.
Darryl Brophy on Twitter: "@HumanistReport @ninaturner The democratic party is designed to kill movements. Nina needs to realize that and get out. I will not support any candidate running in or supporting the democrats. She runs independent/third party next time she'll get my support" / Twitter

Then
The Humanist Report on Twitter: "I'm just spit balling here, ..." / Twitter

I'm just spit balling here, but if Nina Turner ran as a third-party candidate she'd have about a 0.01.% chance of winning. Running as a Democrat gives her at LEAST a 30% chance, but probably more like 50%+. This is obvious.

Do you want her in Congress or not?

I interviewed 30+ 2020 candidates and 98% of them were running as Democrats because they knew it was necessary to win.

But guess what? Almost all of them supported ranked choice voting and comprehensive electoral reform

We need power to change the system. Period.

There are already literally hundreds of third-parties, yet you all say "we need a 3rd party." Guess what? They already exist! The question is this: why aren't they viable? It's because there's momentum to create new parties but ZERO momentum for actual electoral reform.

This is Duverger's law 101.

I've tried to raise people's awareness about this. I want us to be a 5-6 party system, but making more parties means fuck all if they're incapable of actually gaining seats in Congress.

We need power to do anything. Period.

And for the record: I fucking hate our system. It's terrible. Two-party systems are awful for supposedly advanced pluralistic societies.

If you actually, truly, support a 3rd Party your 1st priority should be electoral reform.

I like that. Great statement. None of the progressives in Congress would have gotten there if they didn't run as Democrats. Most of them ran in strongly Democratic districts, though Katie Porter is an exception. Many people have reflexive partisanship, being yellow-dog Democrats or yellow-dog Republicans, and running as a Democrat uses yellow-dog partisanship to one's advance.

That's why Brand New Congress's founders decided on running their PAC's candidates as Democrats and Republicans, as appropriate for their districts.

 

[lpetrich]

After she was driven out of Congress, Katie Hill founded a PAC, Home | Hertime It supported candidates in the 2020 elections, but it had only partial success, like helping Katie Porter get re-elected.

HER Time on Twitter: ".@AOC is a leader at a time when we need it most. She doesn't shy away from a fight and always puts principles above politics. She’s a fierce champion for a better world and a role model to so many. Can we count on you to help us elect more change-makers? (links)" / Twitter

Katie Hill on Twitter: "Excited to support @AOC and so many other fierce women, working hard to ensure their communities are heard. Can we count on you to help elect more change-makers? (link)" / Twitter

KH also runs a podcast about politics - nakedpolitics (@_naked_politics) / Twitter - nakedpoliticspodcast.com/ - with "Ep. 9: Terror on the Hill"

 

[lpetrich]

She's trying again.
Mckayla Wilkes on Twitter: "It's official! I'm launching my ‘22 campaign for Congress in MD-05. ...

It's official! I'm launching my ‘22 campaign for Congress in MD-05.

Steny Hoyer has been my congressman my whole life.

In 2020, we came closer than any primary challenger has in 40 years and won the in-person vote.

Join us – because it's time for some damn change.

I know how hard this pandemic has been.
Losing loved ones.
Trying to make ends meet.
Fighting for healthcare.
Fighting unjust policing.
COVID-19 has exacerbated so many of the longstanding inequities and injustices present in our society.

We need to keep fighting.

I'm running because we need Medicare for All.
I'm running because we need a Green New Deal.
I'm running because we need a real Black Agenda.

Now more than ever.

I'm running because power concedes nothing without a demand.

We are going to keep demanding.

As a grieving child, I was funneled into the school-to-prison pipeline.
As a working mom, I’ve stood up to exploitative landlords.
As a Black, Queer woman, I know how it feels to be marginalized.

This is personal for me.

It always has been.

I'm going to keep fighting for everyone who is still missing a seat at the table.

And if there's one thing we learned from last time, it's that we need to start early.

Can you help us send a staunch progressive & clear signal for change to Congress?

I found this: Howie Klein on Twitter: "Blue America didn’t wait for her to make it official. We endorsed her last month because we remember from 2020 how much of a step up she would be from Steny Hoyer" / Twitter

BA endorsed her back in 2020, and BA already has some endorsements for this year and the next:
Blue America – Working to change America
CA-30, LA-02 special election, VA-11, NC-SEN

I checked on Brand New Congress and Justice Democrats, and they are just getting started for 2022, as far as I can tell.

 

[lpetrich]

Mckayla Wilkes Is Running Against Steny Hoyer in Maryland Again in 2022 | Teen Vogue
In MD-05
She ran last year and lost.
Mckayla Wilkes - Ballotpedia
Steny Hoyer (inc) 64.4%, Mckayla Wilkes 26.7%, 4.2%, 2.7%, 1.9%

Steny Hoyer was first elected to the House in 1981, 40 years ago, making this his 21st term. He is now 81 years old. MKW is right that SH has been in Congress since before she was born - she is 30 years old.

Wilkes tells Teen Vogue that the distinction between her and Hoyer, one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress, could not be starker: Wilkes is running a grassroots campaign; Hoyer, according to NPR, raised more than $2.8 million in contributions in the last election cycle, with more than half coming from super PACs, pharmaceutical companies, and other industries (Hoyer told NPR he’s not beholden to those corporate interests).

"What do you think will go differently this time?"

We have momentum to build off of, and we have a movement to build off of. Our campaign was so much bigger than just me running for Congress. It was the first movement of its kind that my district has ever seen. I think that will be something that’s really different this time around, because people want that change — we saw that within the last cycle. I mean, of course we didn't win, but we did pose the most serious Democratic primary challenge for Hoyer in his entire career.

As far as I've been able to check, that is correct. She may be right that she'll have more success this time - that was true of Ro Khanna, Marie Newman, and Cori Bush.

Though she has lost, she has continued to be an activist.

Immediately after the campaign, we launched our nonprofit, Schools Not Jails, which focuses on dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline. Over the past several months, I’ve been meeting with state legislatures, getting them to support legislation to end the school-to-prison pipeline. We've been very focused on removing school resource officers (SROs) from public schools, and reallocating the money given toward school safety that typically goes to SROs — which is about $10 million in the state of Maryland.

 

[lpetrich]

McKayla Wilkes continues:

And I know how unjust our criminal justice system is. I've lived it, being thrown into the school-to-prison pipeline, and then, as an adult, being incarcerated essentially because of traffic debt because I couldn't afford to pay traffic tickets.

Being overpoliced — at one point in my life, I was pulled over by the police sometimes three or four times a week. I mean, there were times when I had to go to court once a week. I was in court four times a month for traffic tickets, just from being consistently pulled over by the police.

I understand what it's like to go without housing. I understand what it's like to try to survive. We're trying to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. But I’ve got to tell you, since last year I got a job paying $14 an hour; they gave us a raise for $15 an hour and I'm still living paycheck to paycheck, and sometimes paying one bill by holding off the other.

Why so early? "One of the things that we learned from the last time around was that we needed to start raising money early."

What will she be doing differently this time around?

We’re also trying to lay the groundwork to have more volunteers a lot earl[ier] on.... We rely heavily on community support. I don't even want to [say] volunteers, [so] I call it mutual aid, because that's the way that I see it. So far we already have hundreds of people that have signed up to volunteer for our campaign.

That publication also has this article:
Cori Bush: Can She Bring the Movement for Black Lives to Congress? | Teen Vogue

 

[lpetrich]

Entering the race again is Maebe A. Girl, a drag queen who prefers a female gender identity. She was elected Silver Lake Neighborhood Councilwoman in 2019, in a Los Angeles neighborhood. She ran for CA-28 in 2020 against Adam Schiff, a 20-year incumbent.

In the primary, AS won 59.57% of the vote, Republican Eric Early 12.56%, MAG 11.96%, and the others 5.63%, 3.83%, 3.40%, 1.78%, and 1.27%.

AS and EE continued to the general election, with AS winning with 72.66% of the vote.

AS got a big bump in popularity from having been lead impeachment manager for the first impeachment of Donald Trump.

 Maebe A. Girl
Maebe A. Girl - Ballotpedia
Maebe A. Girl for Congress
Maebe A. Girl (@Maebe_A_Girl) / Twitter
"Redesign the House"

 

[lpetrich]

Marianne Williamson on Twitter: "Please start now to pay attention to 2022 Congressional primaries. We didn’t go over the cliff in 2020 but we’re still only inches away from it. Support great people who are running on policies that will fundamentally make a difference. (links)" / Twitter

Listing Nina Turner OH-11, Colin Byrd MD-05, Gary Chambers LA-02, Liam O'Mara CA-42, Lee Carter VA Gov, Angelica Dueñas CA-29 (Tony Cárdenas), Ally Dalsimer VA-11, Erica Smith NC Sen, Mckayla Wilkes MD-05 (Steny Hoyer), Maebe A. Girl CA-28 (Adam Schiff), Antoinette Sedillo Lopez CA-30, Shervin Aazami CA-28, Christine Olivo FL-24

Real Jews Love Ilhan on Twitter: "who is the next democrat you want to see go down in a 2022 primary? Tag them so they can feel the love mine has to be @RepRichardNeal in MA" / Twitter

Richard Neal MA-01, Debbie Wasserman Schultz FL-23, Hakeem Jeffries NY-08, Adam Schiff CA-28, John Larson CT-01 (Andrew Legnani challenging him), Tony Cárdenas CA-29, Chuck Schumer NY Sen, Nancy Pelosi CA-12, Joe Manchin WV Sen, Gerry Connolly VA-11, Steny Hoyer MD-05, Maxine Waters CA-43, Andrew Cuomo NY Gov, Gavin Newsom CA Gov, Richard Blumenthal CT Sen

 

[lpetrich]

Isiah James is running again for NY-09, against likely candidate, incumbent Yvette Clarke.
ISIAH JAMES on Twitter: "I am running for Congress!
Now, more than ever we need a government that centers all its policies and efforts on fighting for workers & marginalized communities, last time we made noise. This time we’ll make history! Stand with me!

Please donate
(video and donation links)" / Twitter

Isiah James is Fed Up with the Dem Establishment, Runs for Congress Again | Interview - YouTube

He claims that YC has not paid much attention to her district, and that she did not move leftward in response to his candidacy.

The vote in the June 23 primary election last year:

• Yvette D. Clarke (inc) - 54.2%
• Adem Bunkeddeko - 24.7%
• Isiah James - 10.4%
• Chaim M. Deutsch - 9.7%
• Lutchi Gayot - 0.9%
• Other / write-in - 0.1%

So IJ was behind another challenger.

ETA: his campaign page: Isiah for Congress 2020 | NY-9

Advocating single-payer healthcare, criminal-justice reform, tuition-free college, affordable housing, and immigration reform.

 

[Derec]

Instead, it is the party of principles and the big tent.

How can you claim to be the party of the "big tent" when you seek to oust everybody who does not toe the AOC/Democratic Socialist party line?

 

[TomC]

Instead, it is the party of principles and the big tent.

How can you claim to be the party of the "big tent" when you seek to oust everybody who does not toe the AOC/Democratic Socialist party line?

To whom are you referring?

You think President Biden is an AOC Socialist? Can you really be that poorly informed?
Tom

 

[lpetrich]

Which Reps Will Progressives Look to Unseat in 2022? - The American Prospect

Here is a list, with who ran against them last year.

• Henry Cuellar TX-28 -- Jessica Cisneros (almost won)
• Jake Auchincloss MA-04 -- Jesse Mermell, Ihssane Leckey, etc. (JM almost won)
• David Scott GA-13
• Kurt Schrader OR-05
• Bobby Rush IL-01
• Alcee Hastings FL-20
• Grace Napolitano CA-32

Many Democratic Reps are very old, in the 70's and 80's, and some of them might retire rather than face a primary challenge. That is what Nita Lowey of NY-17 did rather than face Mondaire Jones. She was 82 years old.

 

[Derec]

To whom are you referring?

The topic of this thread. "Progressive" Democrats trying to unseat moderate members of Congress. Like Maebe A. Girl repeatedly going after Adam Schiff.

You think President Biden is an AOC Socialist?

This thread has nothing to do with Biden or presidential politics in general. It has to do with attempts by so-called "progressive" challenges to primary moderate congresspeople because the latter are insufficiently ideologically pure.

Can you really be that poorly informed?

No. Can you?

 

[TomC]

The topic of this thread. "Progressive" Democrats trying to unseat moderate members of Congress. Like Maebe A. Girl repeatedly going after Adam Schiff.



This thread has nothing to do with Biden or presidential politics in general. It has to do with attempts by so-called "progressive" challenges to primary moderate congresspeople because the latter are insufficiently ideologically pure.

Can you really be that poorly informed?

No. Can you?

I was referring to your post #13.
I quoted it.

But somehow, you missed that?
Tom

 

[Derec]

I was referring to your post #13.
I quoted it.

But somehow, you missed that?
Tom

Post #13 was written with the context of this thread in mind.

But somehow, you missed that.

 

[southernhybrid]

I'm sorry, but those people in the OP link seem as fucking nuts as the extremest on the far right. My favorite was the tweet that said that Biden was a failure. Yesterday, their idol, Bernie Sanders, said that Biden helped pass the most progressive bill in modern times, assuming the progressive children in the House don't fuck it up because it's not perfect.

What the fuck in wrong with these people? Plus Biden hasn't even been in office for 2 months. This is insane. I'm not a fan of Joe Manchin, but you know what you get if you run a hard left progressive against him? You will end up getting a Republican. At least Manchin voted for the bill after a few minor changes were made. Not a single Repub voted for it. Is that what they want? There is nothing big tent about what these people are saying. They are saying "my way or the highway". I hate that attitude.

My district is so hard right that no Democrat has ever had a chance in it. Most of the time, the Republican runs unopposed. I hate that, but it's obvious that we live in a very diverse country when it comes to political views. Let's just be glad that Trump is gone and now we have a decent, experienced president who is also compassionate, instead of an egomaniacal narcissist who tries to destroy anyone who dares to criticize him, and has no idea how government works.

I want the 15 dollar minimum wage as much as anyone, but if all we can get is a 12 dollar minimum wage, that's still a big improvement over 7.25. And, most large corporations are already increasing their entry level wage to 15 dollars or more. It's the small businesses that need to increase their wages and it may be true that some can't afford more than 12 dollars. It's a difficult situation, but nobody ever gets everything they want in government.

Some of these people are bitching about the COVID relief bill. WTF! They need to look at all the details in it. I think Sanders was right when he said it was a very progressive bill. It does more for poor people than anything in my lifetime and I'm old.

I fully support term limits. , Maybe working towards getting term limits instead of challenging those who are already in office would be a much smarter way to go. I do hope some of those who have been in office since the 80s will retire, but we do need experienced people along with the newbies.

End of rant. I doubt that any minds will be changed, by what I've posted. It's just how I see it.

 

[lpetrich]

Good luck on getting Congressional term limits passed. You'll need a Constitutional amendment to do that, and amending the US Constitution is a VERY difficult process. 2/3 of both houses or a constitutional convention, then 3/4 of state legislatures.

It's MUCH easier to try to primary an incumbent, and that's something that has sometimes succeeded.


The Left is doing more than primarying incumbents.
How democratic socialists just took over a swing state - CNNPolitics

On Saturday, Judith Whitmer won an election to be the next chair of the Nevada Democratic Party. She did so with the strong support of the liberal wing of the party aligned with Vermont democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders and the backing of the local chapter pf the Democratic Socialists of America.

The result led to the immediate resignation of the current state party staff -- all of which were aligned with the establishment wing of the party long represented by former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

...
In Nevada, this so-called revolution was against an establishment that has won four straight presidential races, elected two Democratic senators, three of our House members, all but one of the state's six constitutional officers and both houses of the Legislature. But these folks who took over -- and this goes for some of them nationally, too -- want to push the party to the left and, as is often the case, enforce purity tests. They have always, though idealism and/or arrogance, believed they believe what most people believe, which is dissonant with what results have often shown.

Cillizza: Nevada is a swing state -- with a big Senate race in 2022, a governor's race in 2022 and then the 2024 presidential. Does what's happened jeopardize Democratic chances in any of these future contests?

Ralston: It could. But too early to tell. The party machine will set up an entity as a workaround to the party, but this will be cumbersome and garner attention. I assume it will work because these folks know what they are doing. But it is far from optimal, and I am sure the Republicans are loving it.

...
The big winner in the long run is the Republicans. They have long suffered with a dysfunctional apparatus run by a caricature of a party thug. Now they can watch as the other side suffers. Can they exploit it and win some major elections? Seven statewide offices are up in 2022, including governor and US Senate. If they can't do it this time...

Let's see what comes of that.