Democrats trying to unseat each other II

[lpetrich]

Brand New Congress on Twitter: " @JCisnerosTX and her team ..." / Twitter

@JCisnerosTX and her team ran one of the most organized, dynamic, and engaged campaigns we have seen in the 2022 election cycle. They mobilized and inspired new voters by daring all of us to dream bigger and fight for the future we deserve.

The power of Jessica’s vision was so compelling that every faction of power in the Democratic establishment was forced to mobilize to stop her, and they only barely succeeded. From the vicious smears and lies, deceptive and dirty campaign tactics, to the onslaught of dark money spent in support of the incumbent, Jessica faced it all with courage, conviction, and grace.

Jessica Cisneros embodies the future of this movement, and the future of our country. We know her work is just beginning, and BNC is proud to stand by her side.

The score so far:

Justice Democrats newcomers: (won/advanced) Summer Lee PA-12, Greg Casar TX-35 (lost) Jessica Cisneros * TX-28 (withdrew) Rana Abdelhamid * (redistricted) (not yet) Kina Collins IL-07, Odessa Kelly * TN-05

* is also endorsed by BNC

Brand New Congress newcomers: won/advanced: 2, lost: 13, withdrew: 2, not yet: 7

 

[lpetrich]

Sad to say, Marie Newman lost

But she was a good sport about it: Marie Newman on Twitter: "(pic link)" / Twitter

She lost to fellow incumbent Sean Casten, who ran in the same district, the new IL-06. According to govtrack.us his 2020 ideology score was 0.26 - about average for Democrats. MN is relatively progressive.

Casten beats Newman in matchup of Dem incumbents in Illinois - POLITICO - "Redistricting forced the incumbents to fight it out for the same seat in an intense, sometimes awkward, race for a Chicago-area seat."

While the new boundaries favored Newman, Casten benefited from the profile — and campaign fundraising prowess — he built while flipping a battleground seat in the 2018 election.

Casten’s victory came after a quiet conclusion to the campaign, following the recent death of his 17-year-old daughter. Before the tragedy, both Democrats were in an ethics battle: Newman is facing a House ethics probe looking into whether she promised to hire a political rival in exchange for his support. Casten has faced scrutiny for his 2018 campaign’s dealings with a super PAC funded by his father.

Plenty of scandals to go around, it seems.

SC defeated Republican Peter Roskam in 2018, and MN defeated longtime Democratic incumbent Dan Lipinski in 2020. DL had served 8 terms before being primaried by MN, and he was one of the last anti-abortion Democrats in the House. The remaining one is Henry Cuellar, who twice survived primary challenges by Jessica Cisneros.

Castin significantly outraised Newman and poured more money into TV ads, including one last week where he declared that he is “100 percent pro-choice and always will be,” which started airing just days before Roe v. Wade was overturned. He was also backed by 16 House Democrats.

Tuesday’s primary doesn’t fully answer questions about how much the end of Roe matters to voters in 2022, but the Newman-Casten faceoff may have provided some hints, given Newman’s track record on abortion rights. Newman ousted Lipinski in the last cycle largely because of his anti-abortion stance, she openly talks about her own abortion and had support from abortion rights groups like Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America. She was also backed by EMILY’s List, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and eight House Democrats.

Endorsing MN: Reps. Peter DeFazio OR-04 0.27, Nydia Velázquez NY-07 0.15, Pramila Jayapal WA-07 0.07, André Carson IN-07 0.12, Ro Khanna CA-17 0.14, Kai Kahele HI-02 --, Jackie Speier CA-14 0.21, Rashida Tlaib MI-13 0.08

Endorsing SC: Reps. Brad Schneider IL-10 0.35, Bill Foster IL-11 0.31, Maxine Waters CA-43 0.20, Kathy Castor FL-14 0.21, Suzan DelBene WA-01 0.29, Don McEachin VA-04 0.24, Katie Porter CA-45 0.24, Mike Levin CA-49 0.28, Abigail Spanberger VA-07 0.50, Jared Huffman CA-02 0.21, Ed Perlmutter CO-07 0.34, Jahana Hayes CT-05 0.10, Tom Malinowski NJ-07 0.35, Sylvia Garcia TX-29 0.20, Ann Kuster NH-02 0.39, Derek Kilmer WA-06 0.38

The number after the district ID is the govtrack.us ideology score for 2020. The median score for MN's endorsers is 0.14 and for SC's endorsers 0.285. MN's endorsers range from Pramila Jayapal 0.07 to Peter DeFazio 0.27, and SC's endorsers from Jahana Hayes 0.10 to Abigail Spanberger 0.50.

 

[lpetrich]

How did Sean Casten beat Marie Newman?

With New Ad Buy, DMFI Turns Its Sights on Marie Newman - 'The ad points to a congressional ethics investigation into Newman’s campaign. “This is just an ongoing march against progressive women,” Newman told The Intercept.'

DMFI = Democratic Majority for Israel

Newman’s race is one of several in which the PACs for DMFI and its offshoot, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, have spent at least $5.8 million so far attacking progressives in states from Pennsylvania to Texas. “This is just an ongoing march against progressive women,” Newman told The Intercept, noting races in Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas in which “these very centrist and conservative Democrats, funded by Republicans, oftentimes with these super PACS, are working against progressive women. … So we’re just identifying that this is more of the same, this is their formula.”

Seems like the article mixed up which one is an offshoot of which one. It's DMFI that's an offshoot of AIPAC.

Progressives have been able to fight attacks from pro-Israel groups in several races, selecting Summer Lee in Pennsylvania and Jamie McLeod-Skinner in Oregon to run in the general election for House seats, “but we can also see that they lose,” Newman said. Nina Turner, for instance, lost in Ohio after a barrage of spending against her.

“I’m just not having it,” Newman added. And while DMFI states that it is “pro-Israel,” its ads “talk about everything but Israel. So what is their real purpose? They’re not following their mission, for sure,” Newman said. She noted that her husband is Jewish and that groups like DMFI are “busy calling everyone an anti-Semite all the time, and yet they never talk about their mission in these super PAC ads that they execute. So what is your real mission? It feels like your mission is to tear down progressives, or someone that wants peace in the region.”

Like claiming that Nina Turner and Summer Lee aren't Real Democrats without saying much about Israel.

Newman notes that Casten voted for “anti-choice Republicans” like former President George H.W. Bush and has taken at least $1 million from corporate PACs. Her campaign has raised $1.3 million so far and is endorsed by a range of progressive groups including Justice Democrats, Emily’s List, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, as well as several local unions.

George Bush I? That was long ago.

 

[lpetrich]

Progressives See Bittersweet Night in Illinois With Ouster of Marie Newman - "Elsewhere in Illinois, Working Families Party-backed candidate Delia Ramirez won an open primary."

DR is in IL-03.

About MN,

Hers is the first loss of an incumbent backed by Justice Democrats.

“Unfortunately, we did not get the result we were looking for this evening,” Newman said in a statement conceding the race. “Win or lose, we have achieved something truly historic, and done so much good for this community.”

Elsewhere in Illinois, an anti-abortion Democrat backed by Lipinski came in fifth in the 1st Congressional District’s crowded field of 17 candidates. Progressives other than Newman saw mixed results in the state Tuesday night, offering some hope for the left while a Republican takeover of Congress looms.

In an open primary in Illinois’s newly drawn 3rd District, Working Families Party-backed state Rep. Delia Ramirez overcame a flood of outside spending to defeat Chicago Alderman Gil Villegas, who had the support of conservative Democrats in the local machine and in Congress. In November, Ramirez will face Republican candidate Justin Burau, who ran in an uncontested primary on Tuesday.

Working Families Party on Twitter: "BREAKING: Working Families champion @Delia4Congress has won the fiercely contested Democratic primary in the Illinois 3rd congressional district.
She is the 6th Working Families Party congressional candidate to win their primary in the 2022 election cycle. (pic link)" / Twitter

DR has a good record as a progressive.
Working Families Party on Twitter: "The daughter of immigrants, @Delia4Congress is the first Guatemalan-American to serve in the Illinois General Assembly.

As a state legislator, she led successful efforts to codify abortion rights, pass expanded Medicaid coverage, and secure rental and mortgage relief." / Twitter

In IL-01, Jonathan Jackson, son of Rev. Jesse Jackson, leads a crowded field, while Dan Lipinski's pick for that race, an abortion opponent, Chris Butler, was far behind.

In IL-07, however, Kina Collins seems to be losing to long-time incumbent Danny Davis.

Outside groups that have spent millions targeting progressives in competitive primaries this cycle poured money into Tuesday’s races to back Villegas, Casten, and Davis. VoteVets Action Fund, a committee linked to political action committees for Senate and House Democrats, and Mainstream Democrats PAC, a new committee backing conservative Democrats founded by tech billionaire Reid Hoffman, spent more than $1 million on the race to fight Ramirez and support Villegas. Democratic Majority for Israel spent just under $160,000 since late May on ads attacking Ramirez or backing Villegas, and bought ads attacking Newman earlier this month. Opportunity for All Action Fund, a dark-money group aligned with powerful Democrats, poured another $300,000 into the 7th District race on Thursday to back Davis.

Ramirez’s campaign was boosted by more than $1 million in outside spending from progressive groups including the Working Families Party and the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC; WOMEN VOTE!, a project of EMILY’s List; and J Street Action Fund, along with several local unions. Ramirez was also endorsed by Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Reps. Jesús “Chuy” García, D-Ill., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and CPC Chair Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.

Earlier this month, Sanders held a joint rally in Chicago to support Ramirez and Jackson. Villegas, who was previously the City Council floor leader for Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, was backed by the Chicago Tribune, conservative members of the Chicago City Council, the clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, and unions including the Chicago Police Sergeants’ Association. Capitalizing on salient tough-on-crime narratives, Villegas had claimed that Ramirez would “defund the police.”

So while DMFI won against Marie Newman, it lost against Delia Ramirez.

 

[lpetrich]

Democratic Socialists Gave a Solid Performance in Yesterday’s Elections

Rachel Ventura won the Democratic primary for Illinois State Senate seat SD-43, defeating incumbent Eric Mattson. She ran for Congress IL-11 in 2020 and lost to incumbent Bill Foster 58.7%-41.3%.


Just east of TX-28 is TX-15, and a progressive won the runoff there: Michelle Vallejo. Brand New Congress is now endorsing her.

The vote, from Michelle Vallejo - Ballotpedia - she was second, behind competitor Ruben Ramirez, and she then barely won the runoff against him, 30 out of 12,178 votes.

• RR 28.3%, MV 20.1%, others 19.2%, 16.5%, 10.6%, 5.2%
• MV 50.1%, RR 49.9%

What Redistricting Looks Like In Every State | FiveThirtyEight rates TX-15 as a dead heat between the two parties.

 

[lpetrich]

Rep. Henry Cuellar wins contentious south Texas Democratic primary runoff after recount - CBS News
HC: "I am an American, Texan then a Democrat — in that order — and I will continue to fight for Texas values and not let coastal elites bring their failed agenda to our communities"

Seems almost like a Republican.

Axios on Twitter: "Rep. Henry Cuellar, a south Texas Democrat who narrowly survived a bruising primary challenge this month, lashed out at AOC and other progressives in an exclusive interview — insisting it's time for his party to "let me be me." (link)" / Twitter
noting
Henry Cuellar tells progressives to back off after narrow primary win

Cuellar said progressives' demands for the party to move left on immigration, gun rights and other issues risk big losses in November and beyond — and that Democrats must leave room for lawmakers representing centrist or conservative districts to take positions that diverge from the new party orthodoxy.

That may be why the House leadership supported him, to try to get the anti-abortion vote and the gun-nut vote.

"Of course I have a place in the Democratic Party. The question is, do those people have a place in the Democratic Party," referring to the likes of AOC, who supported his challenger, Jessica Cisneros.

“AOC and those people don't know what the definition of ‘progressive’ means. Somewhere down the line, somebody came up with a standard that if you don't agree with me, then you're against me."

"Go and open up a dictionary and see what the word ‘progressive’ means: Open to new ideas — not only their ideas."

He boasted that for years he was the first Democrat to pay his dues to the House Democratic campaign arm, while "these people that are 'real Democrats,' they don't even pay their dues."

noting Ocasio-Cortez defends decision not to pay dues to House Democratic campaign arm | The Hill

"The national Democrats need to understand that we all have our own issues that we understand better, and, like I told some people, 'Hey, let me be me and I'll keep this seat as a Democrat.'"

Abortion’s prominence as a campaign issue likely helped Cisneros during the primary in the northern, urban part of the district near San Antonio, Cuellar admitted.

Cuellar said championing abortion rights can help Democrats in urban areas but that the party needs "to understand that there has to be a hybrid type of message."

The emphasis on abortion "worked in the urban areas, but it did not work in the rural areas," he stressed.

Getting this response:
Jessica Cisneros on Twitter: "After Roe getting overturned, there’s a lot of us also saying “let me be me” but you refuse, @RepCuellar." / Twitter

Nina Turner on Twitter: "@JCisnerosTX @RepCuellar Get him! " / Twitter

The Idiotic “Sex Scandal” in Texas Is Further Proof That Henry Cuellar Needs to Go - "By playing up a fake tabloid scandal involving his progressive opponent Jessica Cisneros, the scandal-plagued anti-abortion Texas House Democrat Henry Cuellar has only further disgraced himself." - 2022 March

 

[Swammerdami]

In this forum I see threads supporting or opposing left-wing extremism, threads supporting or opposing right-wing extremism but very few addressing more important problems, in particular the very important CENTRIST observation that the extreme bipolarization is killing us!

Problems facing America and the World are bigger than ever:

• Uncertain economic prospects for many Americans.
• Financial roller coaster. Is another 2018 credit crisis coming up,? With dollar losing value rapidly against the CPI basket, and share prices falling, even in those devalued dollar terms, investors are hit with a double Whammy. There are people who a year ago had a Million dollars or two and thought of themselves as Top Percent; but now feel whammied by falling share or crypto values, poor employment prospects, rising cost of living.
• Cognitive and emotional impairment driven especially by social media.
• Extreme political polarization. This is especially a problem in the USA but can also be seen elsewhere. Countries will eventually gravitate toward a China-model, where there is no true democracy, a middle class is kept sated; and ultimate authority over policies is largely in the hands of an Elite. The Elite are usually a union of top corporations and billionaires and a powerful political party.
• Health, food and water problems. Covid is already endemic, and novel viruses are probable. Despite technology and ever-increasing farming, famine and hunger are on the rise. Water tables and rivers are depleted.
• Democracy is damaged in the USA, with threats of stealing elections.
• Serious ecological disturbances: Flying insects are dying; so are coral reefs; plastic pollution; and so on.
• War. We have the biggest War in Europe since 1945; wars and threats of war elsewhere; geopolitical instability.
• Climate change.

Yet huge attention is hijacked away from all important issues so one side can yell at the other about gender identity, racial conflicts, and so on. A big problem — working toward fixing it should be one of the most urgent tasks of political America — is this extreme polarization. Without a strong center, priorities get scrambled and conflict just grows.

I look in vain for a thread in "Political Discussions" where this highest-priority discussion is on point. In all the dozens of recent threads, this one may come closest. So I'll repost here some comments from another thread.

So many of these heated debates in America are due to polarization: Americans are no longer able to talk to each other.

Media polarization has become intense. 40 years of right-wing AM Radio and Cable news has poisoned discourse. The right-wing has been vilifying colleges and education for decades, labeling them liberal elitists... ie people that are experts in any particular field. [/I]

Here is a YouTube in which Jonathan Haidt discusses the "Structural Stupidity" which arose in America about 2012. (He blames Twitter, Instagram and other social media.) It's related to his article "Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid" in The Atlantic

It isn't social media. That isn't helping, but AM Radio and Cable News have been carrying the water for multiple decades before social media was invented.

And this isn't to say liberals are the wise and conservatives are the dumbs. Liberals have their weak and uneducated links and extremists. . . .

I mostly agree with you, but do watch the video! According to Haidt, teenage mental illness took a sharp "hockey-stick" spike in 2012 exactly. And by 2014 not only did the already-stupid right get even stupider, but left-leaning institutions started destroying centrism (and thus hope for national harmony) among Democrats.

 

[lpetrich]

Maryland had its primaries last Tuesday, and I'm disappointed that Mckayla Wilkes lost again to long-time incumbent Steny Hoyer in MD-05.

Mckayla Wilkes for Congress on Twitter: "I want to say ..." / Twitter

I want to say the most heartfelt THANK YOU to all the volunteers who knocked doors and made calls, all the people who voted for me, all the supporters who helped us build our grassroots campaign.

While the end result didn't go in our favor – congratulations to Congressman Hoyer on a 22nd term in office – this is a movement bigger than any one person or one election.

It's a movement to put people-funded and people-centered candidates in office up and down the ballot.

I plan to take some time to figure out my next steps, but I do know that I'm not going anywhere.

I'm going to keep organizing, advocating, and fighting here in Maryland for racial, economic, and environmental justice – from the ground up.

There's too much at stake to stop.

And there was good news last night too:

@AshleyEsposito_, a longtime organizer with our org @SchoolsNotJails, is currently leading in the FIRST-EVER Baltimore City School Board Election.

I plan to help her win in November – because it's absolutely time for some damn change.

Seems like a good loser. Like Marie Newman pledging to support Sean Casten.

 

[lpetrich]

Also losing was Donna F. Edwards to Glenn Ivey in MD-04.

Donna F. Edwards on Twitter: "Plus the more than $600,000 AIPAC has given directly to @glenniveymd and $300,000 from DMFI, they’ve spent $7 million dollars to keep me out of Congress.

I’m honored that @AIPAC is so scared of me they think they need to spend so much against me. #7milliondollarwoman" / Twitter

Austin Ahlman on Twitter: ".@AIPAC dropped another $1.7 mil against @DonnaFEdwards in the last 2 days, bringing their total to a staggering $6 million.

Edwards has support from practically every corner of the party — from Clinton/Pelosi to @OurRevolution. The implications of the #MD04 primary are massive. (pix link)" / Twitter


Marie Newman, who lost to fellow incumbent Sean Casten:
Marie Newman on Twitter: "Yes Donna, you have joined our team of members of Congress and candidates AIPAC and DMFI are so very terrified of they have to buy elections to beat us. Please remember: “the only good thing about right wing extremists is that they don’t know when to stop”" / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

AIPAC Has Taken Over the Democratic Primary Process - The American Prospect

Primary season is ending with a bang this year in the Democratic Party, thanks to AIPAC, the single most consequential political action committee involved. The hawkish political group, through its super PAC United Democracy Project, is dumping trainloads of money to influence the outcome of two particularly high-profile races: boosting Haley Stevens over incumbent Andy Levin in Michigan’s incumbent-on-incumbent 11th Congressional District, and Glenn Ivey over Donna Edwards in Maryland’s open Fourth District.

On the surface, those campaigns break down along familiar ideological lines; Stevens and Ivey are the more conservative candidates, Levin and Edwards are progressives. But the Maryland race is especially notable for both the Democratic forces AIPAC is now opposing and for the stunning quantity of cash it has dedicated to the cause: Already, UDP has spent some $6 million boosting Ivey and opposing Edwards, by far the most money the super PAC has poured into any individual race in the cycle. And it’s not merely to knock off a Squad-type progressive: Edwards, who has already served a decade representing the same Fourth District as a Democrat, is a close ally of Democratic leadership and endorsee of everyone from Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Hillary Clinton.

Then noting "In a number of races earlier this year, United Democracy Project put up millions of dollars to back more-conservative candidates, which proved remarkably successful."

• NC-01: $2M+ -- Don Davis had an easy win over Erica Smith
• NC-04: $2.1M -- Valerie Foushee beat Nida Allam
• TX-28: $2M -- Henry Cuellar barely beat Jessica Cisneros
• PA-12: #2.7 -- Steve Irwin barely lost to Summer Lee

"UDP-produced ads have been repeatedly criticized in multiple races for relying on misleading messaging, but the group has otherwise been met with little resistance or condemnation from leading Democrats."

In May, Donna Edwards had a 13% lead over Glenn Ivey, but by July, GI was ahead by 5%. He won by about 15%. Likewise, Summer Lee was ahead by some 23% IIRC last spring, and Nina Turner was likewise far ahead in spring 2021.

... Pelosi recorded a video disavowing some of the misleading claims of the ads UDP has run attacking Edwards’s record.

However, Pelosi notably didn’t condemn AIPAC’s virtual takeover of the Democratic primary process, or condemn party candidates for accepting money from a group heavily funded by Republican donors, one that has simultaneously used its influence to endorse over 100 Republican candidates who refused to certify the 2020 election results. Similarly mum has been fellow Marylander Steny Hoyer, who is second-in-command in the House as majority leader, and has even endorsed Edwards in the past. Indeed, Hoyer, known to be a close ally of AIPAC, endorsed Edwards over the exact same Glenn Ivey in a tight House race a decade ago. But this time he’s remained silent as the group has poured millions of dollars into attacking Edwards. His office did not respond to a request for comment.

...
Crucially, AIPAC’s United Democracy Project super PAC has not been similarly active in Republican primaries, even in races where Republican candidates have been widely criticized for antisemitic comments.

Like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Jewish space lasers.

AIPAC has, however, endorsed numerous Republicans in their general elections. Among that slate of endorsees are Elise Stefanik, Barry Loudermilk, and Scott Perry, who famously compared Democrats to Nazis.

 

[lpetrich]

Poll: Yuh-Line Niou Tied for First in NY-10 Primary - Working Families Party
noting
220712_NY_10_Marginals.docx - 220712_NY_10.pdf - poll document

• 16% - Carlina Rivera, Yuh-line Niou
• 10% - Daniel Goldman
• 8% - Mondaire Jones
• 6% - Jo Anne Simon
• 4% - Elizabeth Holtzman
• 3% - Bill de Blasio
• 2% - Maud Maron
• 0% - Jimmi Li, Yan Xiong, Brian Robinson, John Herron, Peter Gleason, Quanda Francis, Laura Thomas
• 40% - Don't know / undecided

Poor Mondaire Jones

Recently, however, Bill de Blasio withdrew.

Bill de Blasio pulls out of race for House seat, says he’s quitting electoral politics - “Time for me to leave electoral politics and focus on other ways to serve. I am really grateful for all the people I met, the stories I heard and the many good souls who helped out.”

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

Word is that if Diane Feinstein does not run for re-election, Katie Porter will run for that open Senate seat. Porter is also a fund raising power house, 5th in the House for fund raising. The downside, Katie Porter then would have no chance replacing Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House.

 

[Derec]

Word is that if Diane Feinstein does not run for re-election,

There is a chance she runs again? The woman is going to be 91 in 2024!

The downside, Katie Porter then would have no chance replacing Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House.

Isn't she too white for that? The Dems really want to give that position to that Hakeem fellow.

 

[Derec]

Poor Mondaire Jones

Why? He chose to be the carpetbagger instead of running in the district he lives in (NY16) and challenging the police defunder Jamaal Bowman.

Recently, however, Bill de Blasio withdrew.

Not a smart decision. NY primaries are FPTP without a runoff, which means a plurality wins, no matter how small. In a crowded field, one could win with <20%. Since primary polling is notoriously unreliable, why not roll the dice?

 

[Derec]

Like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Jewish space lasers.

The difference is, unlike Israel haters in the Democratic Party (aka the Hamas Caucus), MTG would likely vote to fund the IDF space laser project.

Not space lasers, but still pretty cool:
Israel successfully tests new laser missile defense system

 

[lpetrich]

On July 23, AOC, Ayanna Pressley, and Ilhan Omar showed up in a rally for Rashida Tlaib.

Nick Rizzo on Twitter: "AOC while she was on that stage: "Stop assuming the worst of everyone around us... Collective struggle requires that grace." (vid link)" / Twitter

Daniel Marans on Twitter: "The final question of the panel was what each member would advise supporters about how to help advance the progressive agenda championed by the Squad.
Part of @aoc’s answer was interesting. She called for more “grace.” “Stop assuming the worst of everyone around us.” (vid link)" / Twitter
AOC seems very kind.

With 1/3 of the vote counted, Rashida Tlaib has 2/3 of the vote, with her biggest competition, Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey, having 1/5 of the vote. JW was supported by Bakari Sellers's PAC. Scoop: PAC to spend $1M to oust ‘Squad’ member Tlaib- POLITICO and Bakari Sellers-Affiliated PAC Aims to Unseat Rashida Tlaib

Also, Cori Bush whomped Steve Roberts 69.5% - 26.6%, with the others at 1.8%, 1.1%, 1.0%.

 

[lpetrich]

Why Is AIPAC Spending Millions in Primary to Defeat Rep. Andy Levin, a Former Synagogue President? | Democracy Now!

AMY GOODMAN: Well, I want to turn to your debate in May, when your opponent, Congressmember Haley Stevens, defended her endorsement by AIPAC.

REP. HALEY STEVENS: Well, allow me to say, I’ve been endorsed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee alongside Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, several dozen members of the House Progressive Caucus. And certainly that endorsement was based on my belief in a strong U.S.-Israel relationship. I’ve also been so proud to be endorsed by the Jewish Democratic Council of America, as well as several other pro-Israel groups.

REP. ANDY LEVIN: She didn’t answer the question. The question is about giving back money from AIPAC, giving back money from other PACs that support insurrectionist Republicans. Y’all, this is not like some gotcha thing in a political campaign. Our democracy is hanging by a thread. It’s — I’m going to speak Jewishly here, as, you know, it’s not halachically acceptable. It’s not acceptable, as a moral Jewish person, to support people who are undermining our democracy. And so, it’s not about getting endorsed by AIPAC. It’s about taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from them and then also taking money from other corporate PACs that also are supporting insurrectionist Republicans.

AMY GOODMAN: We just did a segment on Donna Edwards’ race in Maryland, where the issue of Israel and Palestine is hardly raised, even by the AIPAC super PAC, in ads. They raise other issues. Is that the case in your district? Are people aware of this outside money?

REP. ANDY LEVIN: Absolutely it’s the same, Amy. They are not talking about this. They may do some microtargeting, because maybe about 8% of the electorate of this new district is Jewish, and they may do some microtargeting at them. But their ads, there’s a double deception here, really, Amy. One is where the money is coming from. And most of this money is not even coming from Democratic, capital D, sources; it’s coming from Republicans, and mostly Republican billionaires, like Paul Singer and Bernie Marcus and the guy who founded WhatsApp, who — all of whom fund right-wing causes, are union busters and so forth. That’s the first part of this deception.

And the second part is, they don’t even talk about why they’re giving the money. They talk about other things, so whatever they think will be effective to make their chosen candidate win the race. So what you have here is a real threat to the Democratic Party being able to choose our own nominees that we send to the general election in November. This could — Amy, this could go to other issues. You could have Big Pharma, you could have Enbridge or ExxonMobil or tobacco companies deciding to flood the field with dark money in Democratic primaries so they get their chosen nominee. It’s horrifying.

All in character with AIPAC, it seems.

But it looks like AIPAC bought yet another candidate. Haley Stevens beat Andy Levin by close to 60% - 40%.

 

[Derec]

Why Is AIPAC Spending Millions in Primary to Defeat Rep. Andy Levin, a Former Synagogue President? | Democracy Now!

"Democracy Now" is a far left, anti-Israel outfit. Amy Goodman is horrible.

But it looks like AIPAC bought yet another candidate. Haley Stevens beat Andy Levin by close to 60% - 40%.

It's funny how every time a far left candidate loses, the claim is that the election is "bought".

Too bad Tlaib did not lose as well. That would have been great!

 

[lpetrich]

"Far left" - whatever that's supposed to mean. It's hard to deny that AIPAC is willing to spend a LOT of money on elections. If Haley Stevens could recruit a more enthusiastic army of campaigners than Andy Levin, then I'd be willing to concede that AL lost in a fair fight to HS.

Let's say that some front for Hamas started spending oodles of money on candidates' campaigns. Would anyone like that?


I compared the 2020 govtrack.us ideology scores of the two candidates.

• Haley Stevens: 0.35
• Andy Levin: 0.19

So by Democratic-Party standards, HS is a bit on the conservative side and AL a bit on the liberal side.

 

[lpetrich]

Update on Rashida Tlaib's victory: 63.8%, Janice Winfrey 22.4%, others 8.7%, 5.1%. Close to Cori Bush's victory margin.


Lucas Kunce lost to Anheuser Busch heiress Trudy Busch Valentine by a small margin:

TBV 43.2%, LK 38.4%, others 4.7%, 3.9%, 2.4%, 1.8%, 1.4%, 1.4%, 1.1%, 0.9%, 0.9%

LK campaigned on breaking up corporate monopolies, abolishing corporate PAC's, a Marshall Plan for the Rust Belt, and the like, while TBV had a more typical Democratic platform.

Trudy Busch Valentine Ekes Out Victory in Democratic Primary for U.S. Senate | Missouri News | St. Louis | St. Louis Riverfront Times

The win comes despite Valentine largely staying away from voters, debates and unscripted public appearances during her campaign. The former nurse and heiress to the Busch beer fortune was up against a large slate of Democratic challengers, chief among them Lucas Kunce and Spencer Toder, but name recognition and political endorsements seem to have won the day.

...
Valentine had the backing of the Democratic machine, including endorsements by Mayor Tishaura Jones; Freedom, Inc., the preeminent black political organization in KC; and U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-Kansas City).

...
Kunce held his watch party in Kansas City. Despite early returns favoring Valentine, his press secretary Kelli Kee said that she thought Kunce would pull ahead when rural areas started reporting. Kunce had a heavy presence across the state, while Valentine said she wouldn't campaign rurally until the general election.

So it was the progressive candidate who campaigned in rural areas.

Beer heiress Trudy Busch Valentine captures Missouri Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate • Missouri Independent

Throughout her campaign, Valentine has said working as a nurse and experiencing immense grief from family tragedies have both taught her how to listen to people’s needs and to be of service.

“When I was young, I saw nurses take care of people, stay calm in crisis and solve problems,” said Valentine, at her election watch party at the Sheet Metal Workers Local 36 Union Hall in St. Louis. “I became a nurse because I was inspired by their dedication to service. And that same dedication to service is why I stand here tonight as your Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate.”

Valentine thanked Kunce and all her primary contenders, saying, “It’s so good for democracy when people step up and run.”

KBV got into the race in March, while LK and at least one other candidate started campaigning last year.

Valentine, a mother of six children and a nurse, is a member of the family that owned a majority stake in Anheuser-Busch until the brewing company was sold to InBev in 2008 for $52 billion. Forbes magazine in 2020 listed the family’s wealth at $17.6 billion, the 16th largest family fortune in the nation.

She wants to fight the opioid epidemic, increase access to quality healthcare, and support women's rights.

In the campaign’s homestretch, she earned scorn from some in her party’s base after fumbling answers on LGBTQ rights, campaign finance and critical race theory. She also drew criticism for her refusal to debate her Democratic rivals.

But in the end, support from Democratic leaders — such as St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver — and her willingness to spend her family fortune to capture the seat carried her to victory.

LK, like a lot of other such candidates, said that he will continue being an activist even after he lost.

Kunce addressed a crowd of about 50 staffers, volunteers and supporters in downtown Kansas City just before 11 p.m.

“I love y’all,” he began. “We did something amazing here.”

Kunce said the campaign made him think of his working class upbringing, when he wore thrift store clothes while other kids had name brands. His campaign, he said, went up against the same kind of system.

“We knew what this system was about,” he said. “We knew that it was about money and nothing else.”

He urged kids growing up in thrift store clothes to look how close his campaign — made up of “misfits” — came to victory, noting Valentine’s television spending swamped his.

Kunce thanked his staff, who he said “built a movement.”

“We didn’t win, but it’s a miracle what we did,” Kunce said, adding that his campaign’s job is now to support Democrats up and down the ballot in November. “Because Missouri’s the front line for the fight for Democracy. I truly believe that.”