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Democrats trying to unseat each other

The Rhode Island General Assembly is the state's legislature, with a House and a Senate:
  • House: 75 - D 66, R 9
  • Senate: 38 - D 35, R 3
  • Total: 113 - D 101, R 12
The state got 4 progressives in 2016 and 15 this year, making 19, about 1/6 of the legislature.

Scaling to the size of the US House (435), that gives 73 Reps. By comparison, the Congressional Progressive Caucus has 95 Reps and 1 Senator, and the "Squad" is much smaller.
 
The last state's primaries are done. Delaware's. That's a wrap for 2020.

At 119,861 votes, progressive Senate challenger Jessica Scarane lost to incumbent Christopher Coons: 27.1% to 72.9%.

From the reporting fractions of Delaware's 3 counties, I estimate a total of around 130,000 votes and candidate pcts unchanged to the first decimal digit.

Source: Delaware U.S. Senate Primary Election Results - The New York Times - look under "State Results" for all the other states' primaries' results.
 
 John Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020), the civil-rights activist and leader, and then Congressmember, died last summer while in office. He served in the Atlanta City Council over 1982-1986, and then in GA-05 in the US House for the rest of his life, a total of 17 terms.

Also consulting John Lewis (Georgia) - Ballotpedia, he typically won by large margins when he was challenged; the closest a Republican came to unseating him was with 31% of the vote.

On June 9, 2020, JL defeated primary challenger Barrington Martin II 87.6% - 12.4%. He died a little over a month later.

Not long after, the Georgia Democratic Party selected Georgia State Senator Nikema Williams to run in his place. They also decided on a special election to fill that seat until the winner of the general election can fill it.

That special election will be on September 29, 2020.
Barrington Martin II and six others are running in that election. Neither Nikema Williams nor her Republican opponent, Angela Stanton King, wanted to enter that race.
The winner of this race will serve the remainder of Lewis’ Congressional term through January 3, 2021. In the case that no candidate receives at least 50% of the vote, the top two contenders will advance to a December 1st runoff election. If a candidate wins the primary outright, their time in Congress will last 96 days, and if the election advances to a runoff, their tenure in Congress will last 33 days.
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This seems like some goofy "King for a Day" competition. What will they do in Congress in that very limited amount of time? It's barely enough to learn one's way around, and most of their fellow Reps will be working on their re-election, and then on getting started for their upcoming terms.

"King for a Day" is a bit anachronistic here, because for some of the candidates, it will be "Queen for a Day".
 
Reporting from the three Delaware counties is now complete -- 100% for all three of them.

I will now attempt to estimate how well progressive challengers might do, by looking at those who have run and failed before they succeeded. I note in this context Vote Salazar for Congress 2022 | Aug 2nd | MO 5 In the Aug 4 primary, activist Maite Salazar got 14.7% and incumbent Emanuel Cleaver got 85.3%, but MS is aiming for 2022. Though I find her campaign site's graphics rather garish -- stark black-and-whte.

Ro Khanna:
2014 CA-17: 48.2% vs. inc Mike Honda (D) at 51.8%
2016 CA-17: 75.3% vs. Ron Cohen (R) at 24.7% -- Mike Honda didn't run

Cori Bush:
2016 MO-SEN D: 13.3% vs. Jason Kander 69.9%, 9.5%, 7.3%
2018 MO-01 D: 36.9% vs. inc Lacy Clay 56.7%, 3.4%, 2.9%
2020 MO-01 D: 48.6% vs. inc Lacy Clay 45.5%, 5.9%

Paula Jean Swearengin:
2018 WV-SEN D: 30.1% vs. inc Joe Manchin III 69.9%
2020 WV-SEN D: 38.0% vs. Richard Ojeda 33.0%, Richie Robb 29.0%

Marie Newman:
2018 IL-03 D: 48.9% vs. inc Dan Lipinski 51.1%
2020 IL-03 D: 47.3% vs. inc Dan Lipinski 44.7%, 5.7%, 2.3%

So they initially lost with margins as much as 40%.
 
Here are some progressives who lost this year. Name, district, fraction of vote
  • Jessica Cisneros - TX-28 - 48.20%
  • Rachel Ventura - IL-11 - 41.30%
  • Alex Morse - MA-01 - 41.20%
  • Andrew Romanoff - CO-SEN - 41.20%
  • Eva Putzova - AZ-01 - 41.10%
  • Morgan Harper - OH-03 - 31.70%
  • Arati Kreibich - NJ-05 - 29.90%
  • Jen Perelman - FL-23 - 28.00%
  • Jessica Scarane - DE-SEN - 27.10%
  • Melanie D'Arrigo - NY-03 - 25.80%
  • Shaniyat Chowdhury - NY-05 - 24.20%
  • Betsy Sweet - ME-SEN - 23.20%
  • Mark Gamba - OR-05 - 23.10%
  • Lindsey Boylan - NY-10 - 21.90%
  • Melquiades Gagarin - NY-06 - 20.10%
  • Mckayla Wilkes - MD-05 - 18.10%
  • Albert Lee - OR-03 - 16.60%
  • Doyle Canning - OR-04 - 15.20%
  • Zina Spezakis - NJ-09 - 14.90%
  • Russ Cirincone - NJ-06 - 14.10%
  • Jason Call - WA-02 - 14.00%
  • Samelys Lopez - NY-15 - 14.00%
  • Rebecca Parson - WA-06 - 13.50%
  • Lauren Ashcraft - NY-12 - 13.40%
  • Ihssane Leckey - MA-04 - 11.10%
  • Isiah James - NY-09 - 10.30%
  • Sema Hernandez - TX-SEN - 7.40%
  • Heidi Briones - OR-01 - 6.80%
  • Amanda Siebe - OR-01 - 6.70%
  • Peter Harrison - NY-12 - 4.20%
 
I have added what elected-office experience I could find for these candidates.
  • Jessica Cisneros - TX-28 - 48.20% -
  • Rachel Ventura - IL-11 - 41.30% - Will County IL Board
  • Alex Morse - MA-01 - 41.20% - Holyoke MA Mayor
  • Andrew Romanoff - CO-SEN - 41.20% - CO State House
  • Eva Putzova - AZ-01 - 41.10% - Flagstaff AZ City Council
  • Morgan Harper - OH-03 - 31.70% -
  • Arati Kreibich - NJ-05 - 29.90% -
  • Jen Perelman - FL-23 - 28.00% -
  • Jessica Scarane - DE-SEN - 27.10% -
  • Melanie D'Arrigo - NY-03 - 25.80% -
  • Shaniyat Chowdhury - NY-05 - 24.20% -
  • Betsy Sweet - ME-SEN - 23.20% -
  • Mark Gamba - OR-05 - 23.10% - Milwaukie OR Mayor
  • Lindsey Boylan - NY-10 - 21.90% -
  • Melquiades Gagarin - NY-06 - 20.10% -
  • Mckayla Wilkes - MD-05 - 18.10% -
  • Albert Lee - OR-03 - 16.60% -
  • Doyle Canning - OR-04 - 15.20% -
  • Zina Spezakis - NJ-09 - 14.90% -
  • Russ Cirincione - NJ-06 - 14.10% -
  • Jason Call - WA-02 - 14.00% -
  • Samelys Lopez - NY-15 - 14.00% -
  • Rebecca Parson - WA-06 - 13.50% -
  • Lauren Ashcraft - NY-12 - 13.40% -
  • Ihssane Leckey - MA-04 - 11.10% -
  • Isiah James - NY-09 - 10.30% -
  • Sema Hernandez - TX-SEN - 7.40% -
  • Heidi Briones - OR-01 - 6.80% -
  • Amanda Siebe - OR-01 - 6.70% -
  • Peter Harrison - NY-12 - 4.20% -

I'll collect the numbers for the vote fractions: 30.1%, 36.9%, 48.2%, 48.9%

Their median is 42.6% - it excludes all but Jessica Cisneros.

Their minimum is 30.1% - it includes the top 6, and of these, 4 had success in running for office. By comparison, there is only one such success among the 24 candidates below threshold.
 
I'm already seeing speculation of who will run in 2022, and it's not just Maite Salazar.

How Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's political future is shaping Senate Democrats' SCOTUS strategy - CNNPolitics

About Senate Democrats packing the Supreme Court or eliminating the filibuster,
"Well, it will be a decision that is ... comes to the Senate. We first have to win the majority before that can happen. But once we win the majority, God willing, everything is on the table.

"... As I said, we first have to win the majority, because if we don't win the majority, these questions are all moot. But if we win the majority, everything is on the table."

That is a remarkable statement by the man who, as of today, has at least a 50-50 chance of running the Senate come 2021. It's also a reflection of just how aware Schumer is of the potential threat AOC poses to him in a 2022 Democratic primary -- and how much he is going out of his way to move to the ideological left to shut down the possibility.

For months, AOC has refused to rule out challenging Schumer from the left come 2022. "I don't know," the New York Democratic congresswoman said this spring of a potential primary race. "Honestly, this news cycle is so insane, who knows where any of us are going to be in 2022?"

Which, in the world of politics, is essentially her acknowledging that she is thinking about it. Or at least wants Schumer to believe she is thinking about it.
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Or else she's unusually honest by politician standards. She might want to get into the Senate race if CS retires, however.
Schumer's slide to the left is an acknowledgment of the rising power of the liberal left in his party. Progressives who aligned far more closely with AOC and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders than Schumer and former Vice President Joe Biden are ascendant in Democratic politics, as illustrated by a series of primary wins for liberals -- including in Schumer's home state -- this year.

He also understands the power that AOC possesses within the Democratic Party. With Sanders, presumably, stepping off the national stage (he has now run for president unsuccessfully twice) the liberal wing of the party now seems to be AOC's for the taking. And if her fundraising and staff hires are any indication, she is taking it.
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Even if not AOC, then someone else. As to AOC's campaign fundraising and staffing, she may want to help other candidates win and keep herself in the House. After beating back MCC, she may not have much of a challenge in future NY-14 elections.
 
I'll now assess AOC's PAC Courage to Change.

All candidates are Democrats, like AOC herself.
  • Primary defeat: 6 -- Nabilah Islam GA-07, Alex Morse MA-01, Samelys Lopez NY-15, Jessica Cisneros TX-28, Charles Booker KY-SEN, Cristina Tzintzun Ramirez TX-SEN
  • GE win uncertain: 2 -- Georgette Gomez CA-53, Kara Eastman NE-02
  • GE win likely: 4 -- Marie Newman IL-03, Teresa Leger Fernandez NM-03, Jamaal Bowman NY-15, Mondaire Jones NY-17
Total: 12
GE = general election. GG is up against a Democrat, KE a Republican.

I'll continue with some other politicians' PAC's.

Katie Hill's HER Time
  • Primary defeat: 5 -- Maria Candelaria Reardon IN-01, Jesse Mermell MA-04, Rhonda Foxx NC-06, Jaime Escuder TX-23, Claire Russo VA-05
  • GE win uncertain: 13 -- Hiral Tipirneni AZ-06, Audrey Denney CA-01, Christy Smith CA-25, Katie Porter CA-45, Dani Brzozowski IL-16, Jackie Gordon NY-02, Dana Balter NY-24, Kendra Horn OK-05, Lizzie Pannill Fletcher TX-07, Wendy Davis TX-21, Candace Valenzuela TX-24, Jennifer Wexton VA-10, Abby Broyles OK-SEN
  • GE win likely: 2 -- Angie Craig MN-02, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez NY-14
Total: 20

Katie Porter's Truth To Power
  • Primary defeat: 0
  • GE win uncertain: 19 -- Alyse Galvin AK-01, Hiral Tipirneni AZ-06, Ammar Campa-Najjar CA-50, Carolyn Bourdeaux GA-07, Michelle De La Isla KS-02, Kathleen Williams MT-01, Kara Eastman NE-02, Jackie Gordon NY-02, Tedra Cobb NY-21, Dana Balter NY-24, Desiree Tims OH-10, Sima Ladjevardian TX-02, Wendy Davis TX-21, Gina Ortiz Jones TX-23, Candace Valenzuela TX-24, Julie Oliver TX-25, Cameron Webb VA-05, Beth Doglio WA-10, Theresa Greenfield IA-SEN
  • GE win likely: 5 -- Cori Bush MO-01, Ritchie Torres NY-15, Jamaal Bowman NY-16, Mondaire Jones NY-17, Ben Ray Lujan NM-SEN
Total: 24

Elizabeth Warren's Warren Democrats
  • Primary defeat: 3 -- Kiani Gardner AL-01, Eva Putzova AZ-01, Charles Booker KY-SEN
  • GE win uncertain: 52 -- Joyce Elliott AR-02, Celeste Williams AR-03, Hiral Tipirneni AZ-06, Christy Smith CA-25, Gilbert Cisneros CA-39, Katie Porter CA-45, Georgette Gomez CA-53, Jahana Hayes CT-05, Pam Keith FL-18, Lucy McBath GA-06, Abby Finkenauer IA-01, Cindy Axne IA-03, J.D. Scholten IA-04, Lauren Underwood IL-14, Christina Hale IN-05, Michelle De La Isla KS-02, Sharice Davids KS-03, Hillary Scholten MI-03, John Hoadley MI-06, Angie Craig MN-02, Jill Schupp MO-02, Pat Timmons-Goodson NC-08, Kara Eastman NE-02, Chris Pappas NH-01, Amy Kennedy NJ-02, Dana Balter NY-24, Kate Schroder OH-01, Desiree Tims OH-10, Christina Finello PA-01, Susan Wild PA-07, Matt Cartwright PA-08, Sima Ladjevardian TX-02, Mike Siegel TX-10, Wendy Davis TX-21, Gina Ortiz Jones TX-23, Candace Valenzuela TX-24, Julie Oliver TX-25, Donna Imam TX-31, Colin Allred TX-32, Qasim Rashid VA-01, Cameron Webb VA-05, Beth Doglio WA-10, Tricia Zunker WI-07, John Hickenlooper CO-SEN, Raphael Warnock GA-SEN, Theresa Greenfield IA-SEN, Adrian Perkins LA-SEN, Sara Gideon ME-SEN, Mike Espy MI-SEN, Abby Broyles OK-SEN, Jaime Harrison SC-SEN, Marquita Bradshaw TN-SEN
  • GE win likely: 19 -- Nikema Willams GA-05, Kai Kahele HI-02, Lori Trahan MA-03, Ayanna Pressley MA-07, Andy Levin MI-09, Ilhan Omar MN-05, Bonnie Watson Coleman NJ-12, Deb Haaland NM-01, Teresa Leger Fernandez NM-03, Jerrold Nadler NY-10, Jamaal Bowman NY-16, Mondaire Jones NY-17, Joaquin Castro TX-20, Pramila Jayapal WA-07, Ed Markey MA-SEN, Gary Peters MI-SEN, Tina Smith MN-SEN, Jeanne Shaheen NH-SEN, Cory Booker NJ-SEN
Total: 74
 
Of these, AOC's PAC has had the most primary defeats - only 1/2 primary victories. The others have had much higher fractions. KH's PAC had 3/4, and KP's and EW's ones had even more. But the latter two likely got into the game rather late and thus tended to endorse existing winners.

AOC's victories also had relatively safe seats; the other three's don't.

Let's now look at AOC's recruiters.

Brand New Congress
  • Withdrawal: 3 -- Michael Hepburn FL-27, Peter Khalil WA-03, Maggie Toulouse Oliver NM-SEN
  • Primary defeat: 33 -- Eva Putzova AZ-01, Kimberly Williams CA-16, Peter Mathews CA-47, Jen Perelman FL-23, Nabilah Islam GA-07, Michael Owens GA-13, Robert Emmons IL-01, Anthony Clark IL-07, Rachel Ventura IL-11, Jim Harper IN-01, Alex Morse MA-01, Ihssane Leckey MA-04, Shelia Bryant MD-04, Mckayla Wilkes MD-05, Zina Spezakis NJ-09, Melanie D'Arrigo NY-03, Shaniyat Chowdhury NY-05, Melquiades Gagarin NY-06, Isiah James NY-09, Lindsey Boylan NY-10, Lauren Ashcraft NY-12, Tomas Ramos NY-15, Morgan Harper OH-03, Albert Lee OR-03, Doyle Canning OR-04, Mark Gamba OR-05, Corey Strong TN-09, Chris Armitage WA-05, Rebecca Parson WA-06, Jessica Scarane DE, Kimberly Graham IA, Charles Booker KY, Betsy Sweet ME-SEN
  • GE win uncertain: 6 -- John Hoadley MI-06, Kara Eastman NE-02, Nick Rubando OH-05, Mike Siegel TX-10, Adrienne Bell TX-12, Paula Jean Swearengin WV-SEN
  • GE win likely: 4 -- Rashida Tlaib MI-13, Cori Bush MO-01, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez NY-14, Jamaal Bowman NY-15
Total: 46

Nearly all of BNC's efforts are for primarying Democratic incumbents. Only a little bit for defending Democratic incumbents, running in open races, or defeating Republican incumbents.

Justice Democrats
  • Primary defeat: 4 -- Alex Morse MA-01, Morgan Harper OH-03, Jessica Cisneros TX-28, Betsy Sweet ME-SEN
  • GE win uncertain: 2 -- Georgette Gomez CA-53, Kara Eastman NE-02
  • GE win likely: 10 -- Raul Grijalva AZ-03, Ro Khanna CA-17, Marie Newman IL-03, Ayanna Pressley MA-07, Rashida Tlaib MI-13, Ilhan Omar MN-05, Cori Bush MO-01, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez NY-14, Jamaal Bowman NY-15, Pramila Jayapal WA-07
Total: 16

JD is like BNC, but more of its efforts are put into defending Democratic incumbents, though all of them are in relatively safe seats.

Democrat reportedly says 'no one is afraid of' group that backed Ocasio-Cortez primary challenge

"No one is afraid of those nerds. They don't have the ability to primary anyone." - some senior Democratic official.

Famous last words.
 
Georgia's 5th Congressional District special election, 2020 - Ballotpedia

The results for that "King for a Day" election for GA-05 on 2020 Sep 29:

Kwanza Hall (D) 32.3%, Robert Franklin (D) 28.1%, Mable Thomas (D) 19.1%, Keisha Sean Waites (D) 12.1%, Barrington Martin II (D) 5.7%, Chase Oliver (L) 1.9%, Steven Muhammad (I) 0.8%

Though for some of the candidates, it would be "Queen for a Day". KH and RF will be going up against each other in the general election. The winner will be in office over December. In January next year, the winner of the "normal" general election will take office. That election will have Nikema Williams (D) vs. Angela Stanton King (R), and given the partisan composition of that district, NW will likely win.


Brand New Congress (@brandnewcongress) • Instagram photos and videos has paintings and pictures of many of its candidates. The paintings include some that made Eva Putzova and Paula Jean Swearengin have black hair and yellowish skin, making them look more Mediterranean - Southern European / Northern African / Middle Eastern. More like many Hispanics, like AOC. I've found a picture of PJS with AOC - Victory in West Virginia! | Progressive Democrats of America - PDA - and PJS's skin looks a bit pinkish while AOC's skin looks a bit yellowish.
 
AOC's Courage to Change PAC:
  • Endorsed before primary:
    • Primary defeat: 6 -- Nabilah Islam GA-07, Alex Morse MA-01, Samelys Lopez NY-15, Jessica Cisneros TX-28, Charles Booker KY-SEN, Cristina Tzintzun Ramirez TX-SEN
    • GE win uncertain: 2 -- Georgette Gomez CA-53, Kara Eastman NE-02
    • GE win likely: 5 -- Marie Newman IL-03, Teresa Leger Fernandez NM-03, Jamaal Bowman NY-16, Mondaire Jones NY-17
  • Endorsed after primary:
    • GE win uncertain: 6 -- Jackie Gordon NY-02, Michael Siegel TX-10, Candace Valenzuela TX-24, Beth Doglio WA-10, Marquita Bradshaw TN-SEN, Paula Jean Swearengin WV-SEN
    • GE win likely: 1 - Cori Bush MO-01

Success in picking winners:
Brand New Congress < AOC < Justice Democrats
 
AOC won by primarying a long-time incumbent, in a spectacular upset that eclipsed Dave Brat's doing so four years before. She talked about supporting primary challenges to other Democratic incumbents, but she eventually backed off. Going into this year's elections, she endorsed only two challengers of Democratic incumbents: Jessica Cisneros, who failed, and Marie Newman, who succeeded. She endorsed two more challengers later in the year, but that was after they or their campaigners demonstrated some serious moral failings.

The first was Jamaal Bowman, who challenged Eliot Engel. That was after EE stayed in DC during the earlier weeks of the virus's hitting the US, lied about returning to his district, and then saying twice at a rally in NYC that he wouldn't be there if he didn't have a primary. I think that it seemed like gross negligence to her. She had taken part in delivering food aid to the people of her district, doing some of it herself. His later saying "this is not a dictatorship" about her endorsement of JB seemed to imply that AOC was acting like some party boss. Something that didn't help. JB succeeded.

The second was Alex Morse, who challenged Richard Neal. Some of RN's campaigners insinuated that AM was guilty of some annoying lechery. AOC may have gone into action there because of that smear campaign. But AM failed.
 
Looking back to 2018 - AOC stumped for CB after her victory over Joe Crowley back in 2018:

Cori Bush on Twitter: "ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ STUMPS FOR CORI BUSH FOR CONGRESS!!

It’s Cori’s birthday and GOTV. Join the fun, meet @Ocasio2018, and help us excite voters to the polls for Aug. 7th!

Speakers include: @brucefranksjr MO State Rep 78th @MobilizeMO #BeThe1st (links)" / Twitter

Cori Bush on Twitter: "@Ocasio2018 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Cori Bush Are Punk AF https://t.co/yXDIyYSTRz" / Twitter
With a picture of the the two candidates together.

Yesterday:
Cori Bush on Twitter: "@AOC, it’s been a long road since we first met in 2017. I'm beyond honored to have your @CourageToChange endorsement. I'm looking forward to what we’re going to accomplish together in Congress! https://t.co/i5Z79zafgy" / Twitter
With a picture from 2018?

Cori Bush on Twitter: "I'm currently being challenged by two white supremacists. We need a resounding victory on November 3rd to prove that the movement for Black lives is here to stay. Can you chip in today? https://t.co/jQwdj3Nwvc" / Twitter
She's talking about the Republican and Libertarian candidates. The picture shows CB with AOC in front of AOC's office. Both are masked, and AOC's office outer walls continue to have plenty of stickies on them.
 
AOC endorses Mike Siegel | The Texas Signal - he's running in TX-10
“Republicans in Congress continue to block vital legislation everyday working families need and instead serve their special interests, so it’s more important now than ever for us to elect as many allies in Washington as we can get,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a prepared statement.

“Courage to Change is proud to endorse Mike Siegel for Congress, because voting for him is voting to put an end to special treatment for big money interests, and to put the people first by making affordable healthcare accessible for everyone, bringing good jobs to our community, and making clean air and water a reality for everyone,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
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Mike Siegel on Twitter: "There is so much at stake: climate, jobs, health, justice, democracy.

We need an unstoppable coalition—workers, environmentalists, everyone—to build solutions to meet the scale of these crises.

Join us! Not just to win an election. For a better future. https://t.co/eULljpMmt5" / Twitter
Among the candidate's supporters, the Sunrise Movement and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Rep. Katie Porter and progressive PAC make a play for Texas | The Texas Signal - "The PCCC announced Monday it would be directing its members to donate to seven progressive House candidates, including three from Texas: Candace Valenzuela (TX-24), Mike Siegel (TX-10), and Julie Oliver (TX-25)."
 
Georgette Gómez on Twitter: "The climate crisis is an existential threat and Congress must take action to address it. I’m proud to be endorsed by @AOC, a leader in the fight against climate change. I support the Green New Deal and I’m ready to work with her to move our country toward 100% clean energy. #CA53 https://t.co/r5KQpXaH1K" / Twitter

Two progressive Democrats face off in 53rd Congressional District - The San Diego Union-Tribune - "One of two candidates with similar politics but different backgrounds will be the district’s first new representative"

Georgette Gomez and Sara Jacobs -- "Gómez and Jacobs aren’t separated much by ideology — both say they support the Green New Deal, Medicare for All and other progressive policy goals."


slAyOC on Twitter: "@AOC just endorsed @BethDoglio! While Beth’s opponent is also a Democrat, Beth is the only candidate in this race fighting for #MedicareForAll and a #GreenNewDeal. https://t.co/jeaHpYoEu1" / Twitter
She's in Washington State.

Sunrise Movement 🌅 on Twitter: "LIVE: Q&A with @BethDoglio about why she's running and why we need to mobilize and get out the vote for her! Make calls for her at [url]https://t.co/HrfbfjNQyp https://t.co/jZ8JlbHRs8" / Twitter[/url]
She described how she was an anti-fossil-fuel activist, opposing plans to build docks for exporting coal to China. She also described how important it is to have good relationship with builders' labor unions, because they like fossil-fuel projects because of the jobs that those projects will make for them.
 
Pastor drawn into Mo. protest to give keynote at MLK event | The Blade - Jan 17, 2016 3:20 AM - Cori Bush
The Rev. Cori Bush says she studied the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, methods after Michael Brown died.


The Rev. Cori Bush of Florissant, Mo., had not planned to protest in Ferguson, Mo., in response to the August, 2014, police shooting that killed teenager Michael Brown.

At that time, a St. Louis-area church that she had started in 2011, Kingdom Embassy International, was closed during a search for a new location.

“Mike Brown happened, and then ministry started right there on the streets,” she said. “That became my ministry.”
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Then her involvement in a "Truth Telling Project", about police violence, and inspired by South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
She will tie her story “to how truth telling is justice,” she said, “how we can’t have justice without the truth being told, and without making people uncomfortable with the truth. Because that’s the only way that we all get free, is if the truth is uncovered. If it’s told, the people accept the truth. And then, if we begin to build from what that truth is, everybody’s voice is powerful; everybody’s voice is necessary. That’s how things move.”

...
The Truth Telling Project is also important, Pastor Bush said, because “we’re not at reconciliation yet. … Right now, we’re still really trying to work on the truth, because the people are still so wounded and they’re still so waiting to start to see justice before their faces.”
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She was in the front lines of the Ferguson protests back then, protests with daily actions for more than a year. CB was sometimes a pastor and sometimes a nurse -- what she has been more recently. However, she was never arrested.
But, she added, “I was assaulted by the police. I have a picture of me standing in front of the policeman when he hit me, and I just knew that he was about to arrest me, and he didn’t. God didn’t allow it.”

She said she felt pain at the moment, “but I didn’t get up with any marks.”
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She is no stranger to activism, and that makes her much like AOC.
Social action is in Pastor Bush’s genes. Her father was a politician, and “early in his career it was all about social justice, so he taught us that,” Pastor Bush said. “He took us around. We did all the marches, all the boycotts, but I did it because my father made me.”

Then in a Catholic high school, “They taught us a lot about nonviolent struggle.”

With the uprising after the killing of Michael Brown, Pastor Bush said, “This was the first time that I did it for myself. Everything for me was more ministry, so I did a lot in the streets as far as ministry, a lot of outreach, a lot of beating the pavement that way.” She held worship services in a local school protesters used.

She started studying the Rev. King’s philosophy. “Especially since Mike Brown,” she said, “since the tragedy, I just kind of needed to know how he was able to maintain through all of what was placed before you, what you were facing, and knowing that it may not get better while you’re standing here facing it. That it could get worse. So what do I do, and how do I help the people to be able to continue on?”
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AOC also likes MLK. CB helped found a Ferguson chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference -- MLK was its first President, from 1957 to his assassination in 1968.
 
Now for some friends of AOC.
Amy Vilela on Twitter: "This..all this." / Twitter
notes
Rolling Stone on Twitter: ".@CoriBush, a registered nurse and BLM activist, is the Democratic candidate for Congress to represent Missouri's 1st congressional district. In "The Next Wave," she talks about her support for Medicare for all, her experience with Covid-19 and more [url]https://t.co/tka9C4slPa https://t.co/iSCii0U0Xy" / Twitter[/url]
noting
Cori Bush: From Protest Leader to Congress - Rolling Stone
Has a video interview of her. Her father was a local politician, but she never wanted to be one. She was a pastor, then a nurse.

After the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, she became involved in the protests of that event, and she watched as cops would often get very rough with the protesters. She asked where the elected leaders were, and when someone asked her to run, she decided to do so.

Her career as a nurse made her support Medicare for All because she saw the inadequacies of Obamacare. She also talked about the importance of loving others.

She described what it was like to have COVID-19.
One day I was fine — back in March — I was fine all day long. And then later in the evening, all of a sudden, it was like a train hit me. I was really, really, really cold. My head started to spin and hurt. I couldn’t taste anything. I had shortness of breath and tightening in my chest. I started to feel like something was sitting on my chest.
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About her colleagues,
What I’ve been hearing is disturbing, devastating, unbelievable. I met with some nurses and some other support staff that talked about how they have to wear the same mask for three days. Now, when I worked on the floor as a nurse, I had to put on a new mask to go into my patient’s room, and then I had to take that mask off and wash my hands before I exited that patient’s room. Every time I went into that patient, any patient’s room, I had to put on a brand-new mask. That’s how we’re taught. But right now, nurses and other other staff are asked to wear the same mask for three days in a row. It is absolutely disgusting. It’s disgusting. It’s horrible.
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We’ve got to make this history ourselves | Guest Columnists | stlamerican.com
But it’s not just these past four years that will be accounted for on November 3. For many of us, this struggle has been decades in the making. Nearly every day for the past four years, we’ve watched as the current father of racism, Donald Trump, and his administration stoop to new lows. Many of us are rightly shocked at the cruelty, bigotry, and hatred that our president and his white supremacist movement sow.

We’ve watched the COVID-19 crisis only continue to grow—claiming 225,000 lives, forcing millions to lose their jobs and health insurance, and creating economic turmoil that has hundreds of thousands facing evictions and utility shut-offs, with no real relief in sight. The relentless disappointment and pain of this administration has made us numb, and most days we merely brace for what may come next.
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She then talked about how shocking Donald Trump's victory was, and how she responded by getting involved in activism.
 
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