"Tuesday's primaries featured the crucial state of Pennsylvania plus a smattering of contests in the not-so-crucial states of Nebraska, Idaho, and Oregon.
The realities of a complex array of races with their own
local dynamics defy the construction of pat narratives. Left-wing
Democrats won some races and lost others, while in other cases, former
insurgents have not been entirely embraced (or co-opted) by the
establishment."
"But it’s clear the party is moving in a leftward
direction, with even the most mainstream new Democratic candidates on
the scene embracing views that would have been extremely daring five or
10 years ago. They are also simply riding positive momentum from the
national political environment and — in the specific state of
Pennsylvania, though not nationally — from some newly favorable district
boundaries."
Here is a rundown of who won and who lost. It appears that progressive women were well represented among the winners. And that some people who were predicted to win lost. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee could be considered among the losers. It doesn't endorse primary candidates, but does keep a roster of candidates who are considered the party's best prospects for flipping seats.
One of the surprises was Kara Eastman, from the 2nd congressional district in my state of Nebraska. Since I am not in the 2nd district and am still registered as a Republican (not bragging about that!) I didn't vote for either of the Democratic candidates in this race. I did however vote for the person opposing our governor, Pete Ricketts, on the Republican ticket in the primary (Crystal Gabel). It didn't do any good, but gave me satisfaction.
Anyway, about the race between Kara Eastman and Brad Ashford:
"While Ashford pitched himself as a moderate voice of bipartisan cooperation, Eastman touted her status as the only lifelong Democrat in the race and took a harder line on the issues.
She said she would push
for a single payer “Medicare for all” approach to health care, a swift
minimum wage hike to $15 an hour and higher corporate tax rates.
In
that way, Eastman was able to harness the enthusiasm of the party’s
energized base, which is eager to aggressively take on President Donald
Trump and his fellow Republicans this fall.
She held a 1,126-vote advantage in figures reported at midnight by the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office."
Good to see John Fetterman knocked out the incumbent PA lieutenant governor Stack. The mayor of Braddock walks, talks and smells like a Bernie-ite though not yet endorsed by Sanders. Wolf will probably be re-elected and I hope Fetterman moves on to Senator. Shame he'll probably start wearing a suit.
ReplyDeleteI see Eastman's victory as not so much a rejection of Ashford as a rejection of Trumpism. She came out strongly in favor of social safety net issues. She's a social worker and head of a nonprofit, so isn't a Johnny-come-lately to these issues. Her Republican opponent for November paints her as way too liberal for the district. We'll see. The district had a chance to go for a candidate who is less liberal, and they didn't.
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