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Democrats trying to unseat each other II

In the Pennsylvania US Senate seat up for election this year, in the Democratic primary, the vote was John Fetterman 59.0%, Conor Lamb 26.4%, Malcolm Kenyatta 10.3%, Alex Khalil 4.3% with 91% counted. JF seems like some Bernie-Sanders-ish figure, as opposed to the carefully-manicured-looking CL.

CL has 2020 govtrack.us ideology score 0.42 (0 = liberal, 1 = conservative), making him one of the more conservative Democrats in the House, the sort who like to brag about how "electable" they are.

MK was supported by Brand New Congress and some other progressive PAC's, as was Morgan Harper of Ohio.


In PA-03, incumbent Dwight Evans got 76.3%, Alexandra Hunt 19.5%, and another one, 4.2%. AH, a former stripper, was supported by some progressive PAC's, though not BNC or Justice Democrats.

In PA-12, Steve Irwin was ahead at first, then Summer Lee pulled ahead, and she is now ahead by 41.7% - 41.3% with 94% of votes counted. The uncounted votes are mainly in more-urban Allegheny County, where she beats Steve Irwin. However, SI beats SL in Westmoreland County, which is more suburban.

SL now has 446 more votes than SI, and I estimate that counting the remaining votes will likely give SL 160 to 320 additional votes above SI.

SL was supported by Justice Democrats and several other progressive PAC's, and also by the likes of Ayanna Pressley and Elizabeth Warren.

A third candidate, Jerry Dickinson, was supported by Brand New Congress. He got only 10.9% of the vote. If he wasn't in the race, then SL would likely have gotten a larger victory margin.
 
Ryan Grim on Twitter: "Big wins for the GOP donors to AIPAC tonight: they and allies spent $7 million to bury Erica Smith and Nida Allam in Democratic primaries in North Carolina.
They proved that if they spend endless money everywhere, they'll at least manage to win in a few places." / Twitter

J Street on Twitter: "United Democracy Project (AIPAC) & DMFI have spent $2.9+ mil in #NC01 to defeat Erica Smith, $2.4+ mil in #NC04 to defeat Nida Allam and $3+ mil in #PA12 to defeat Summer Lee. It makes them them BIGGEST player in each race, spending more than the leading candidates COMBINED. 2/5 (pic link)" / Twitter

David Weigel on Twitter: "Another AIPAC win/progressive loss in #NC04, a safe seat where Sen. Valerie Foushee beat Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam. Among Allam's endorsers: Sanders, Warren, Tlaib, Omar, Sunrise Movement. (link)" / Twitter

NC-01 (NE of Raleigh): Don Davis 63.2%, Erica Smith 31.1%, others 3.1%, 2.6%

NC-04 (NW of Raleigh): Valerie Foushee 46.1%, Nida Allam 36.9%, others 7.4%, 5.4%, 1.3%, 1.3%, 1.1%, 0.5%

Another progressive loss was Attica Scott in KY-03 (Louisville), losing 63.3% - 36.7%. From the NYT,
Representative John Yarmuth, a Democrat, is retiring, leaving two state legislators to compete for the state’s only Democratic congressional district. Attica Scott, a progressive activist and state representative, will tee up against Morgan McGarvey, Kentucky’s Senate minority leader. Mr. McGarvey has Mr. Yarmuth’s blessing.
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But so far, Summer Lee seems to have survived the onslaught of AIPAC smearing.

Summer Lee on Twitter: "Our victory shows that we can overcome the billionaire class that wants to divide and conquer us all with fear and lies-for-profit, if only we come together across our differences for a positive vision of multiracial democracy. We can have nice things, if we fight. #PA12" / Twitter

On the other side,

Abigail Gardner on Twitter: "I'm going to make it plain: Steve Irwin hired a man convicted of forgeries to do petitions for him, and when he got caught with 100s of forged signatures he lied about it. So do I think he is going to do the right thing and concede? No. Does it matter? Also no." / Twitter

Abigail Gardner on Twitter: "Conceding is theater. I don't expect him to concede prior to the county making more official numbers from the outstanding precincts available on Friday. But we know the math and it is with Summer Lee." / Twitter

Marta-Vote Summer Lee on May 17th on Twitter: "@abigailgardner Also lied about not taking $ from the PAC and about not using the same talking points as in the PAC ads." / Twitter
 
lpetrich said:
In the Pennsylvania US Senate seat up for election this year, in the Democratic primary, the vote was John Fetterman 59.0%, Conor Lamb 26.4%, Malcolm Kenyatta 10.3%, Alex Khalil 4.3% with 91% counted. JF seems like some Bernie-Sanders-ish figure, as opposed to the carefully-manicured-looking CL.
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I saw Fetterman's wife announcing his win. I thought it was his daughter at first. Not only is she gorgeous, she seems to have a great sence of humor. "I saved his life and I'm never going to let him forget it." :hysterical:
 
Max Berger on Twitter: "It’s genuinely staggering how much @justicedems has accomplished in so little time, with so few resources. ..." / Twitter
It’s genuinely staggering how much @justicedems has accomplished in so little time, with so few resources.

They are the most impactful and important group in the progressive movement by a significant margin. In a sane world, they would be showered with 10,000,000s of $$$.

If we had proportional representation, Justice Dems would hold 15-30% of seats in Congress.

If a group was this effective on the conservative side, billionaires would ply them with money.

But, liberal billionaires and funders haven’t given them the $$$ their success deserves.

It’s truly unfortunate to live in a society and a political system that’s entirely privatized, but given the constraints, it would be very helpful if more big funders figured out a way to give money to the most effective progressive organization in the country.

It's an open secret in the progressive left that @JusticeDems annual budget is 1/10th of its other progressive counterparts and 1/50th of it's establishment counterparts.

The press doesn't cover this stuff, but it's just incredible how much they punch above their weight.
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Paul Reverse on Twitter: "@maxberger @justicedems The #JusticeDemocrats have identified a winning formula: 1) Refuse to take corporate $; 2) Fight for policies that help the working and middle class; 3) Fight against racist policies; 4) Talk to voters directly and don't shy away from frankness." / Twitter

I'd like to see the numbers before I can take such claims seriously. How does Justice Democrats compare with Brand New Congress, Our Revolution, Progressive Democrats of America, Blue America, Warren Democrats, Bold Progressives, ...?

But in any case, I appreciate the new wave of progressive candidates who eschew corporate support.
 
So I went to the Wikipedia articles on BNC and JD; those articles list their candidates' performance.
BNC:
  • 2018: inc 0, new 30, new primary win 11, new general win 1 -- AOC
  • 2020: inc 2 (all win), new 44, new primary win 8, new general win 2 -- Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush
  • 2022 (so far): new 10, new primary runoff 1, new primary win 1
JD:
  • 2018: inc 3 (all win), new 79, new primary win 26, new general win 4 -- AOC, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar
  • 2020: inc 7 (all win), new 10, new primary win 5, new general win 3 -- Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush, Marie Newman
  • 2022 (so far): new 3, new primary runoff 1, new primary win 2

Good performance for a PAC that was once described as:
Brooke Singman on Twitter: "NEW: on @justicedems plans to primary members, a senior Democratic source said: " “No one is afraid of those nerds. They don't have the ability to primary anyone.”" / Twitter - back in 2019
 
In Oregon, it looks like 2 out of 3 progressive wins.
  • OR-04: Val Hoyle 65.1%, Doyle Canning 15.5%, others 6.0%, 5.3%, 4.8%, 1.4%, 0.6%, 0.3% (80% reported)
  • OR-05: Jamie McLeod-Skinner 60.5%, Kurt Schrader* 39.5% (54% reported)
  • OR-06: Andrea Salinas 36.9%, Carrick Flynn 18.7%, others 11.7%, 9.7%, 8.3%, 7.7%, 6.3%, 0.4%, 0.3% (85% reported)
One of the OR-04 others was Andrew Kalloch, and he placed 5th with 4.8%. I got a lot of online ads for him, and also for Val Hoyle. I also got some mailers from VH, and I overheard some of her TV ads. I'm annoyed that DC was a no-show there.

From an Election-Day interview with Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks,
The Young Turks on Twitter: ".@CenkUygur asks Congressional candidate @Canning4Oregon if #CryptoBros entered dark money in #PrimaryElections, “For the first time, we have a dark money coming in, in a democratic primary - this is a playbook to crush #Progressives & protect #Billionaires." (vid link)" / Twitter

DC has conceded.
Doyle Canning on Twitter: "Thank you to everyone in this movement. Your hard work, sacrifices, contributions, and faith in our vision of progressive change, was met with a wall of billionaire Super PAC cash, and you took a stand because you know we can't wait, our climate can’t wait, change #cantwait. (pic link)" / Twitter
Progressive Democrat Doyle Canning Election Night Results Statement

"Elections are Won and Lost. but a Movement Marches Forward.*

Eugene, Oregon - Doyle Canning conceded the election tonight to fellow Democrat Val Hoyle, Oregon's Commissioner of Labor and Industry, in the primary election for Oregon's newly redrawn and Democratic leaning Fourth District. In a private phone call, Canning congratulated Hoyle on her win.

Canning had this to say to her supporters:

"Make no mistake, while this wasn't the result we wanted, our movement is strong. I want to start tonight by thanking everyone in this movement. Your hard work, sacrifices, contributions, and faith in our vision of progressive change, was met with a wall of billionaire Super PAC cash, and you did not cower. You did not turn your back on the promise of people powered change. You took a stand because you know we can't wait, our climate can't wait, change can't wait - and together we kept on putting in the work to win. We didn't, but if I had to do it all again, I would not hesitate. I am so grateful to each and every one of you.

I just called Commissioner Hoyle to congratulate her, and I know that our voices have been heard. Across our district and the state of Oregon and the United States, elected officials have been put a notice: Progressives are building power. Together, we've put bold climate action, Medicare for All, and ending big money in politics on the table, forcing the attention in this race onto the bold agenda of action we need and deserve.

Running this race has been the honor of my life. Thank you."

Background - Canning, 42, of Eugene, is an environmentalist, attorney, and 20 year veteran community organizer. Doyle Canning ran in the Democratic primary for Congress in the newly redrawn and Democratic leaning Fourth Congressional District of Oregon. Canning is committed to taking no campaign funds from the fossil fuel industry or corporate PACs, and legislating for bold climate action, a Medicare for All system that guarantees healthcare to all Americans, ending poverty, and advancing the rights of workers.
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I'll now compare DC's and VH's stated positions.

Issues - Doyle Canning for Congress OR-04
Priorities | Val Hoyle for Congress

I've abridged both platforms.

DC:
  • OUR CLIMATE CAN’T WAIT - Climate Change is an Emergency, and Clean Energy is our Opportunity to Create Good-paying Union Jobs on the Coast.
  • MEDICARE FOR ALL CAN’T WAIT - Health care is a human right. It's time to pass Medicare for All.
  • CARE AND KIDS CAN’T WAIT - Parental Leave, Early Learning, Great Schools, Quality Jobs and Care We Can Count On
  • HOUSING CAN’T WAIT - Everyone deserves a safe, stable place to live. Canning has been in the fight, and she’ll stay in the fight, as our voice for housing solutions in Congress.
  • RACIAL JUSTICE CAN’T WAIT - Our country must reckon with the harms of racism, and we must move forward together.
  • WORKING FAMILIES CAN’T WAIT - The pandemic has only worsened economic inequality, and shown us the power of the labor movement to fight for working people.
  • REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE CAN’T WAIT - Abortion care is health care, and health care is a human right. Exercise of these rights must be available to all, no matter where we live or how much money we make. We Choose What’s Best for Us and Our Lives. Period.
  • STUDENT DEBT CAN’T WAIT - No one should start their life in debt. Canceling student debt will secure economic opportunity for millions of borrowers as well as advance racial justice. We need debt forgiveness and free public college now.
  • RURAL OREGON CAN’T WAIT - It's time to take care of our rural communities as much as our cities.
  • LGBTQ+ RIGHTS & EQUALITY CAN’T WAIT - Canning embraces all families, affirms all genders, and will fight hard for all people to secure your right to love who you love and be who you are, wherever you are. No exceptions.
  • PEACE & DIPLOMACY CAN’T WAIT - Representing those who fight and suffer from war - Not those who profit from war.
VH:
  • Climate and Environment
    • Moving America to a 100% Clean Electricity standard.
    • Fighting for a just transition to a renewable energy future that provides good jobs for Oregonians and protects families from high energy costs.
    • Halting new fossil fuel leasing on our federal public lands.
    • Pushing for the federal investments necessary to make Oregon a leader in renewable energy generation.
  • Housing and Homelessness
    • Fight for major investments in new public housing in the communities hardest hit by the affordable housing shortage, including workforce housing.
    • Shift tax policies that subsidize the wealthy toward creating more opportunities for first-time home ownership.
    • Get the federal government to recognize homelessness as a crisis to mobilize resources.
    • Strengthen the enforcement of fair housing laws.
  • Working Families
    • Increasing the federal minimum wage to $15/hour and eliminating the tipped minimum wage.
    • Universal preschool and federal support to ensure affordable child care costs for working families.
    • Comprehensive paid family and medical leave for all workers.
    • Strong enforcement of protections against discrimination and harassment in the workplace.
    • Federal investments in workforce training and expanding the apprenticeship model so all Oregonians have the opportunity to “earn while they learn” a skilled trade.
    • Passage of the PRO Act to make it easier for workers to form unions and collectively bargain.
  • Health Care
    • Passing universal health care legislation to ensure that every American has access to affordable, quality care when they need it.
    • Finally allowing Medicaid and Medicare to bargain with Big Pharma on prescription costs, and ensuring those savings are available to all Americans.
    • Lowering unaffordable deductibles so that health insurance is an actual benefit, instead of a shell game.
    • Protecting the integrity of Medicare and Social Security, so we can keep our promises to older Americans.
    • Safeguarding abortion access and reproductive healthcare for all Americans.
  • Education
    • Canceling crippling student loan debt and reforming the predatory student loan industry.
    • Direct federal investment in public education at all levels, including funding to support free community college for all.
    • Full federal funding of IDEA to finally fulfill the promise of a free and appropriate public education for students with disabilities.
    • Ensuring that the federal government keeps its commitment to fund Title I so that all students have equal access to quality public education.
  • Voting Rights
    • Passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
    • Ending Citizens United and cracking down on corporate dark money in our elections.
    • Passage of the For the People Act to protect voting rights and reduce the influence of money in politics.

The two platforms are hard to distinguish. Environment, housing, labor issues, student debt, abortion access, ... I'll look for differences.

Healthcare: DC supports Medicare for All, while VH doesn't quite go that far, though she does mention "universal health care legislation" and "lowering unaffordable deductibles".

What one mentions but the other doesn't. DC: rural Oregonians, VH: voting rights.
 
KISS OF DEATH: Biden’s First Endorsement of 2022 Is Down Big in Oregon Primary - "Democrat Kurt Schrader trails liberal challenger by more than 20 points"
"Kurt Schrader has had my back from early on and played an important part in the progress we have made as a nation," Biden said at the time. "That's why I'm proud to endorse Kurt in his reelection campaign for Congress."

The White House did not return a request for comment.

Schrader drew progressive ire in February 2021 when he voted against Biden's American Rescue Plan. Months later, as he worked to separate Biden's $2 trillion social spending plan from a bipartisan infrastructure package, he reportedly called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) a "terrible person."

Still, Schrader secured both Biden's and Pelosi's endorsements, which helped him massively outspend McLeod-Skinner. Schrader has spent $3.5 million to McLeod-Skinner's $580,000, and the incumbent also benefited from $2 million in outside group support.

McLeod-Skinner ran far to Schrader's left—the challenger backs both the Green New Deal and Medicare for All.
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So Kurt Schrader is going the way of Joe Crowley and Eliot Engel - an arrogant, clueless incumbent.

From govtrack.us 2020 ideology score, KS is at 0.45 making him one of the most conservative Democrats in the House (0 = liberal, 1 = conservative)
 
Rep. Kurt Schrader of Oregon helps kill drug pricing bill, endangering Biden infrastructure plan - oregonlive.com - Published: Sep. 15, 2021, 6:34 p.m
U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader of Oregon cast one of the key Democratic votes against the drug pricing plan.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee vote to drop the proposal from its piece of Biden’s signature 10-year, $3.5 trillion spending plan was not necessarily fatal. The separate House Ways and Means Committee kept it alive by approving nearly identical drug-pricing language.

Even so, the provision’s rejection by one committee underscores the clout that moderates looking to curb new spending — or any small group of Democrats — have as Biden and party leaders try pushing the entire package through the narrowly divided Congress.

...
The Energy and Commerce vote on the drug-pricing language was 29-29, with three moderate Democrats joining Republicans to oppose it: Reps. Scott Peters of California, Kathleen Rice of New York and Oregon’s Schrader. Tie votes in Congress are usually insufficient to keep legislative provisions alive.

Schrader, who inherited a fortune from his grandfather who was a top executive at pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, has accepted large donations from big pharma during his seven terms in Congress.
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If this election's vote holds up, then good riddance to someone so grossly corrupt.
 
The Little Red Boxes Making a Mockery of Campaign Finance Laws - The New York Times - "Democratic candidates are all-but scripting ads for super PACs and dark-money groups to do their bidding — in plain sight."

Starting with Rep. Kurt Schrader's red box.
On April 29, Mr. Schrader issued a not-quite-private directive inside a red-bordered box on an obscure corner of his website, sketching out a three-pronged takedown of what he called his “toxic” challenger, Jamie McLeod-Skinner — helpfully including a link to a two-page, opposition-research document about her tenure as a city manager.

The message was received.

On May 3, a super PAC that has received all its money from a secret-money group with ties to the pharmaceutical industry began running television ads that did little more than copy, paste and reorder the precise three lines of attack Mr. Schrader had outlined.

...
The boxes highlight the aspects of candidates’ biographies that they want amplified and the skeletons in their opponents’ closets that they want exposed. Then, they add instructions that can be extremely detailed: Steering advertising spending to particular cities or counties, asking for different types of advertising and even slicing who should be targeted by age, gender and ethnicity.
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Then some examples of redboxing, noting that it's done by Democrats across the political spectrum, from Kurt Schrader to Jessica Cisneros. Also discussing Republicans' ways of coordinating.
Adav Noti, the legal director of the watchdog group the Campaign Legal Center ...

“It’s a joke,” he said. “The coordination of super PACs and candidates is the primary mechanism for corruption of federal campaigns in 2022.”
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Then noting the $3 million spent on Valerie Foushee's campaign in NC-04 -- mainly by a super PAC run by AIPAC, and by a super PAC called "Protect Our Future" founded by 30-year-old cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried.
Ms. Foushee is running against, among others, Nida Allam, a Durham County commissioner who promotes herself as the first Muslim woman elected in North Carolina, and who has been critical of U.S. military aid to Israel “being used to oppress the Palestinian people.”
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A red flag to AIPAC, I'm sure.

SBF's PAC also spent some $11 million on Carrick Smith in OR-06. Crypto gets its first big political test - POLITICO

Red boxes are typically hidden in plain sight in “Media Center” or “Media Resources” sections of campaign websites that operatives know how to find, and often use thinly veiled terms to convey their instructions: Saying voters need to “hear” something is a request for radio ads, “see” means television, “read” means direct mail, and “see while on the go” usually means digital ads.

...
While political reformers question the legality of these wink-and-nod arrangements, past complaints to the Federal Election Commission about illegal coordination involving public materials posted online have mostly gone nowhere. A complaint about a top adviser to Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 campaign tweeting a request for specific television ads, which a super PAC then produced, was recently dismissed.

...
Red boxes aren’t static. Candidates update their messaging guidance, essentially scripting super PAC ads for different stages of the campaign.
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The article concludes with some redboxing by both Kurt Schrader and his main opponent, Jamie McLeod-Skinner.
 
 
Sean Patrick Maloney on Twitter: "While the process to draw these maps without the legislature is against the will of voters, if the newly-announced maps are finalized, I will run in New York's 17th Congressional District. NY-17 includes my home and many of the Hudson Valley communities I currently represent." / Twitter

He was in NY-18, and he will now compete with Rep. Mondaire Jones. He's the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Sahil Kapur on Twitter: "News -> @AOC tells me @spmaloney should not be DCCC chair if he runs against a fellow Democratic lawmaker in a New York primary.

“if he's going to enter in a primary and challenge another Democratic member, then he should step aside from his responsibilities of the DCCC.” (pic link)" / Twitter
SK: Should he step aside from the DCCC he's running in a primary against another member?

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez: "I think so. I think so. Because, given the resources that he has at his helm, it creates a conflict of interest. And even if he is acting in complete propriety - completely properly, which I would believe he would - it still creates an appearance of a conflict of interest. And I believe that if he's going to enter in a primary and challenge another Democratic member, then he should step aside from his responsibilities of the DCCC."
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Max Berger on Twitter: "It's really disappointing how poorly ..." / Twitter
It's really disappointing how poorly the establishment of the Democratic Party is responding to the crisis of democracy.

Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn are still endorsing Cuellar, and the head of the DCCC abandoned his district to run against a young, black progressive incumbent.

It's to be expected that the Democratic establishment would treat the rise of the left as a threat to their position.

It's so deeply cynical and a dereliction of duty to fight the left harder than authoritarian Republicans. History will not judge them kindly.

I'll be incredibly disappointed if Mondaire Jones runs in Jamaal Bowman's district. I think it's politically and morally wrong.

But, I'm just aghast the head of the DCCC put him in that position. If the republic is really on the line - and it is - how can you be so selfish?
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These districts are in Westchester County or nearby. From south to north:
  • NY-16 -- Jamaal Bowman (includes north Bronx)
  • NY-17 -- Mondaire Jones
  • NY-18 -- Sean Patrick Maloney (before he moved to NY-17)
 
Out of the ~113,000 votes, Summer Lee is now beating Steve Irwin by 682 votes. There are about 2,000 votes left to count, mostly in Allegheny County, where SL beats SI by 5%. That means a likely 100 votes more.

So it looks like AIPAC is going to lose here.

Ryan Grim on Twitter: "“Are you by any chance aware that Fetterman has been hospitalized?”
Lamb volunteer making the hard sell to a Fetterman supporter (who had already called Lamb the “bran cereal” of the Democratic Party) (pic link)" / Twitter

David Kantrowitz on Twitter: "@ryangrim Conor Lamb is a perfect, central-casting candidate but for 2002, not 2022." / Twitter

R. Suleiman on Twitter: "Conor Lamb is a political candidate in PA directly from central casting. I think that he is too clean-cut. Fetterman is who most blue-collar white & Black PA people are(in terms of their look-w/ work shirts(Dickies) and jeans). He got my vote b/c of this." / Twitter

R. Suleiman on Twitter: "Kenyatta is a good communicator, but he needs more experience as a politician before he can possibly make a real run at an office like U.S. Senator. It isn't fair, but his sexual orientation will be a hindrance to him in a state like PA." / Twitter

R. Suleiman on Twitter: "Austin Davis may become a real contender if Shapiro wins the Gov.'s office, and he becomes a valuable Lt. Gov. He may springboard that experience to become the 1st Black Gov. of PA." / Twitter
 
Dave Wasserman on Twitter: "I've seen enough: state Rep. Summer Lee (D) wins the #PA12 Dem primary, defeating Steve Irwin (D)." / Twitter
then
Summer Lee on Twitter: "$4.5 mill 🔥🗑" / Twitter

Burned and gone to waste.

Summer Lee, Declaring Victory in Pennsylvania, Puts Dark Money Democrats on Notice | Vanity Fair

"The United Democracy Project, a super PAC for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, poured millions to defeat Lee in a Pennsylvania House primary. Similar dark money groups have targeted several progressives."
Around seven weeks before Pennsylvania’s primary elections, Summer Lee commanded a lead of 25 points over rival Steve Irwin in the race for Pennsylvania’s 12th District, a blue stronghold encompassing Pittsburgh and its surrounding suburbs. It appeared that Lee, 34, a Black woman and progressive activist who currently serves as a Pennsylvania state representative, would make history. Then came the outside money. By election day, Democratic groups had dumped more than $2 million into the primary race to defeat Lee—dwarfing the outside money spent attacking Irwin, a mere $2,400. Specifically, the United Democracy Project (UDP)—a political action committee for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)—spent $2,025,297 against Lee and $660,317 in support of Irwin, 62, a Pittsburgh lawyer and county Democratic Party organizer. The ads painted Lee as anti-Israel and claimed she was “not a real Democrat,” following a playbook that moderate groups have run against other progressives nationwide, including against Pennsylvania’s Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman.
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After noting that Summer Lee is a likely Squad candidate,
Endorsed by Sanders, Lee’s platform is rooted in key progressive policies such as the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, and expanding the Supreme Court. Lee has supported setting conditions on U.S. aid to Israel and condemned Israel’s actions against Palestinians. Irwin, conversely, adopted a more moderate platform, stressing bipartisanship and building broad coalitions. Irwin, who is Jewish, said in an interview with Jewish Insider that statements from Lee, “do not indicate a strong conviction that Israel has a right to exist.” (Lee dismissed this claim, saying she “absolutely” believes in Israel’s right to be an independent Jewish state and, “What’s more is that I also understand and really, truly believe the need that we have for Jewish folks globally to have a safe haven.”)
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"All said, nearly $4.8 million was poured into the race—a staggering figure for a primary."
 
lpetrich said:
Out of the ~113,000 votes, Summer Lee is now beating Steve Irwin by 682 votes. There are about 2,000 votes left to count, mostly in Allegheny County, where SL beats SI by 5%. That means a likely 100 votes more.

So it looks like AIPAC is going to lose here.
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And it's a win for Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Funny how fauxgressives like Lee never want to like aid to Palestinians to conditions like cracking down on terrorism and certainly ending the absolutely evil "pay for slay" schemes. Hmm.

Still, there is a chance that Irwin might pull it off. Unfortunately a slim chance, but a chance.

Ryan Grim on Twitter: "“Are you by any chance aware that Fetterman has been hospitalized?”
Lamb volunteer making the hard sell to a Fetterman supporter (who had already called Lamb the “bran cereal” of the Democratic Party) (pic link)" / Twitter
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This could prove a tough break for Democrats. They are stuck with a popular, but unhealthy, candidate. Will he be able to do what he did in the primary, i.e. visit all of Pennsylvania's 67 counties? And if he is forced to drop out in the middle of campaign, what then? To the runner-up go the spoils or what?

R. Suleiman on Twitter: "Conor Lamb is a political candidate in PA directly from central casting. I think that he is too clean-cut. Fetterman is who most blue-collar white & Black PA people are(in terms of their look-w/ work shirts(Dickies) and jeans). He got my vote b/c of this." / Twitter
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Fetterman's popularity seems to be more about personality rather than policies per se. I like his stance on weed, and that should be popular across partisan divides.
 
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lpetrich said:
Sean Patrick Maloney on Twitter: "While the process to draw these maps without the legislature is against the will of voters, if the newly-announced maps are finalized, I will run in New York's 17th Congressional District. NY-17 includes my home and many of the Hudson Valley communities I currently represent." / Twitter
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I do not understand this "drama lama" around this.
All the districts had to be redrawn, and there is one less of them because NY lost a seat. The old 18th is no more, and the new 18th is a brand new district, no more a successor to the old 18th than the new 17th. If Maloney lives in the new 17th, it is natural that he would run there, and not in the new 18th. The numbers really mean nothing.

He was in NY-18, and he will now compete with Rep. Mondaire Jones. He's the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
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Again, the 18th Maloney was in is no more. The new 18th is a different district altogether.
Mondaire Jones lives in the 16th. He should run there, even if it means going against Jamaal Bowman.
The "drama lama" is ridiculous and really damaging to the Democratic brand. Rep. RItchie Torres even accused Maloney of "racism", as if black congresscritters should automatically be given deference and right of first refusal as to what district to run in, unopposed by fellow Dem incumbents.

From New York Magazine/Intelligencer:
A Lot of Democrats Are Mad at Sean Patrick Maloney

NY Mag said:
The new maps place Jones in a similar predicament to Maloney’s. Under the draft map, his home of White Plains would now be considered part of the 16th District, which is currently represented by Jamaal Bowman, a fellow first-term Democratic representative. Jones hasn’t announced a decision on where he intends to run yet, but Bowman issued a statement of his own, saying that he and Jones “should not be pitted against each other all because Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney wants to have a slightly easier district for himself.”
“Congressman Maloney should run in his own district. I’ll be running in mine,” Bowman said.
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What kind of chicanery is that?
17th is Maloney's "own district". He lives there. Mondaire Jones does not live in the 17th, so it is not his own district.
That he used to live in a district that shares the same number as the new district should be beside the point.

Sahil Kapur via lpetrich said:
Sahil Kapur on Twitter: "News -> @AOC tells me @spmaloney should not be DCCC chair if he runs against a fellow Democratic lawmaker in a New York primary.
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Why? Maloney would be running in the district he lives in. Jones should do the same.

Max Berger (via lpetrich) said:
It's to be expected that the Democratic establishment would treat the rise of the left as a threat to their position.
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It is a threat to the country. Both parties becoming more extreme is bad news.

I'll be incredibly disappointed if Mondaire Jones runs in Jamaal Bowman's district. I think it's politically and morally wrong.
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Why? Because they are both black? Because they are both on the leftist fringe of the Dem party?
They both live in the same district. So why should one of them get to push out an actual resident of the 17th district so he has an easy cruise to reelection there? THAT is politically and morally wrong!

But, I'm just aghast the head of the DCCC put him in that position. If the republic is really on the line - and it is - how can you be so selfish?
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Please! The republic is not on the line because two radical freshmen might go against each other in the primary because they both live in the same district.

back to lpetrich himself said:
These districts are in Westchester County or nearby. From south to north:
  • NY-16 -- Jamaal Bowman (includes north Bronx)
  • NY-17 -- Mondaire Jones
  • NY-18 -- Sean Patrick Maloney (before he moved to NY-17)
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I am trying to find a good map zoomed on the relevant area of old and new 16th-18th districts to show the changes in territory, but alas, could not find one.
Edited to add: The interactive map on the 538 site is not too bad. You can zoom in, but I am missing overlay information such as shorelines and county boundaries which would help orient district boundaries vs. say where Manhattan and Bronx are.

P.S.: Maloney did not move. The district boundary did.
 
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The war in the 12th District: Both wings of Democratic party collide as Bernie Sanders comes to Pittsburgh to tout Summer Lee | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Ms. Lee, who famously got her start in state politics a few years ago by ousting a longtime Democratic incumbent, has pitched a vision for the party that’s focused more on movement-building and systemic change than it is status quo pragmatism. She’s organized around the issues of racial, environmental and economic justice and has talked of lifting up the most vulnerable.

To Mr. Irwin and his powerful surrogates on Thursday, it comes down to the ability to get things done in Washington at a time the Democratic agenda needs allies, not critics, they said. Mr. Doyle and Mr. Fitzgerald pointed to Mr. Irwin as someone who would immediately work as a partner with President Joe Biden’s administration and Democrats in Congress.
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It seems like SI's platform is being a good Democratic apparatchik, rather than SL's wanting to do things.
Ms. Lee likened the attacks against her to the establishment throwing everything it can at her to stop the movement she’s helping to cultivate. She said it didn’t work when she took down the long-term Democratic state House incumbent Paul Costa in the 2018 primary, and it hasn’t worked since.

“Instead of going along to get along, we decided that there is more that we can do — that there are more people that we are going to empower and lift up,” Ms. Lee said. “We kept on coming back, cycle after cycle.”

She said the movement resulted in Pittsburgh electing its first Black mayor, Ed Gainey. Mr. Gainey, speaking at the rally, criticized super PACs for spending so heavily against Ms. Lee’s candidacy.

“The beauty of this is to show special interests that when the will of the people comes together, your money is only cents,” Mr. Gainey said.
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So SL got started by primarying a long-time incumbent, like AOC and Ayanna Pressley and Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman.
 
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