On Tuesday night, Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), a member of the anti-Israel Squad, overcame her primary challenge, almost certainly ensuring her reelection in November. She faced a challenge from Edgewood Councilwoman Bhavini Patel, who announced her run last October. She is the first but certainly not the last Squad member to face a primary challenger.
Decision Desk HQ projects Summer Lee wins the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District.#DecisionMade: 8:45pm ET
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) April 24, 2024
Follow results here: https://t.co/mXSWJkmUMd pic.twitter.com/wLn7DMeHsQ
While Lee may have emerged victorious on Tuesday night, the rest might not be so lucky. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) has his primary on June 25 against Westchester Executive George Latimer, and polls look favorable towards Latimer. The same goes for Rep. Cori Bush's (D-MO) challenger, DA Wesley Bell, with that primary taking place on August 6.
Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) are also facing primary challenges, with Omar even facing a rematch from 2022, as she'll go up against former Councilman Don Samuels once more. He came shockingly close last time, earning 48.20 percent of the vote to Omar's 50.35 percent.
Lee's win is not the only indicator of the influence of the anti-Israel base in the Democratic Party. President Joe Biden may already be the presumptive Democratic nominee, having earned enough delegates earlier last month with the Georgia Democratic Primary. However, anti-Israel efforts such as Abandon Biden have been encouraging voters to choose "No Joe" in Pennsylvania as well as vote uncommitted in other states in response to what support Biden has dared to show Israel following the October 7 attack that Hamas perpetrated against our ally in the Middle East.
Earlier on Tuesday, Lee reposted Bush's encouragement for people to vote for her, linking Patel to "[r]ight-wing extremist megadonors like Jeff Yass" and even former and potentially future President Donald Trump. "Our democracy is not for sale," her post also noted, taking issue with campaign donors, as Bush certainly has before.
Right-wing extremist megadonors like Jeff Yass are afraid of unbought, unbossed, democratically elected Black women like @SummerForPA.#PA12, send Jeffrey and the rest of Donald Trump's wealthy supporters a message today: Our democracy is not for sale.
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) April 23, 2024
Vote for Summer.
"I am so humbled and proud to win my first primary reelection to be the Congresswoman for this incredible district I’ve spent my life fighting for," Lee herself said in a statement. "Our campaign was built on a record of delivering for our democracy, defending our most fundamental rights, and expanding our vision for what is politically possible for our region’s most marginalized communities. Our victory is a rejection of right-wing interests and Republican billionaires using corporate Super PACs to target Black and brown Democrats in our primaries—be it AIPAC or Moderate PAC or any other MAGA billionaire in Democratic clothing. Western PA is the blueprint for the future all of America deserves."
With an estimated 92 percent reporting, Lee currently leads Patel with 59.5 percent of the vote to Patel's 40.5 percent of the vote.