Far-left Democratic Rep. Summer Lee, who has criticized Israel’s military actions in Gaza, won Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary. The election was a microcosm of larger tensions within the party over the Middle East and tested the attitudes of Democratic voters. About war.
The race in Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District is seen as the first test for a “sect” of left-wing progressive Democrats in Congress, some of whom are heading to primaries this summer. But Mr. Lee’s campaign could attract significant outside spending from pro-Israel groups, especially those expected in the upcoming Democratic primaries against Rep. Jamal Bowman of New York and Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri. There wasn’t.
“Many people tried to convince us that we could not promote peace and win this district,” Lee said in his victory speech.
Pennsylvania will play a pivotal role in November’s rematch for the White House between President Biden and former President Donald Trump, and is also a key location for both parties as they vie for control of the Senate and House of Representatives.
Tuesday’s primaries will intensify the competition among the three, the results of which will help determine control of Congress. Sen. Bob Casey (D) will officially face businessman David McCormick (R) in what is expected to be one of the most expensive and high-profile Senate races in the country. Become.
Republican Congressman Scott Perry will be running for re-election in Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District against Democrat Janelle Stelson, a longtime local TV news anchor. Democrats are targeting Perry’s Harrisburg-area seat as a potential seat to flip in their bid to take back the House. And Democratic Rep. Susan Wilde will defend her 7th District seat from Republican state Rep. Ryan McKenzie. The Lehigh Valley region has always been a battleground, and Republicans once again singled it out as an opportunity to oust Democrats as they struggle to maintain their slim House majority.
Lee, a new Congressman from the Pittsburgh area, overcame a Democratic primary challenge from Edgewood Ward Councilwoman Babini Patel in a race that highlighted the Democratic Party’s divisions over Israel.
Lee called for a ceasefire last fall and was one of the first members of Congress to criticize the Israeli government’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
At the time, her position set her apart from the majority of the party. But over the past six months, voter sentiment on the conflict has shifted, with Democrats including Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York increasingly criticizing the Israeli government. In interviews with voters in Lee’s district ahead of the primary, some Lee supporters said that while they were initially unsure of her position, they now accept it or believe it has changed. He said he has come to think of it as more mainstream.
In a tweet after his victory, Lee said: “Opposing genocide is good politics and good policy. #ceasefirenow.”
McCormick faces prominent Casey in second Senate trial
The race between Mr. Casey and Mr. McCormick is expected to be one of the most intense Senate showdowns in the country, as Democrats fend off a challenge to a one-seat majority in the Senate. The election campaign will also be held in one of the most important battleground states that will determine the presidential election.
Casey is well known throughout the state. His last name is integral to Pennsylvania politics. He has held the Senate seat since 2007 and is the son of Robert Casey Sr., who served two terms as governor from 1987 to 1995. Casey has easily won reelection in past elections, and polls show him with an early advantage, leading by 7 percentage points. He gained points in last month’s Franklin Marshall College poll.
But Republicans expect Mr. McCormick, a former hedge fund CEO, to be Mr. Casey’s toughest challenge yet. After narrowly losing his 2022 Senate nomination to TV doctor Mehmet Oz, McCormick rallied the party around his own candidacy and fended off a challenge to him in the primary.
Mr. McCormick intends to portray Casey as a career politician, hoping that he will be drawn in by Mr. Biden’s sluggish approval ratings and voters’ lingering fears about the economy.
Mr. Casey also hopes that Mr. Trump’s rise to the top of the Republican field will have a negative impact on Mr. McCormick, a swing voter in the suburbs who is essential to winning the state. In 2022, Trump endorsed Oz and watered down McCormick as a “liberal Wall Street Republican.” However, the two have since endorsed each other in this year’s campaign. Democrats will also attack the fact that McCormick still resides in Connecticut, where he owns a home.
Abortion and democracy are expected to play a big role in Perry’s election.
Stelson easily won the six-person primary to challenge Perry.
Democrats say Stelson, who was registered as a Republican until January 2023, has gained support from independents and moderate Republicans who may be turned off by Perry’s conservatism and ties to Trump. I believe it can be done. Mr. Stelson, who is well known for his years of television appearances, attacked Mr. Perry over his support for Congressional legislation, the Life Begins at Conception Act, which would effectively ban abortions nationwide.
But Republicans point to Perry’s easy victory in the last election as proof he will be re-elected again. He won the district by 8 points, even though Democrat Josh Shapiro won the district by 12 points in the 2022 gubernatorial race.
Perry previously chaired the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus and played a central role in efforts to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election, but Democrats have put Trump at the top. I hope it will do some damage to Mr. Perry. The House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack found that Perry was part of a White House meeting where strategies to challenge the transfer of power were discussed. After Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, Perry formally objected to the counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes.
“Together, we can defeat his extremism and chaos and bring common-sense problem solving back to Congress,” Stelson wrote in a post on X after his victory.
