How Progressives Won and Lost in Purple Pennsylvania – The Intercept
Progressive candidates in Pittsburgh won two key races on Tuesday. Reform candidate and chief public defender Matt Dugan ousted a longtime tough-on-crime incumbent to win the primary for district attorney in Pennsylvanias Allegheny County. State Rep. Sara Innamorato won the Democratic primary for Allegheny County executive. Both will advance to general elections in November. Dugan is currently running unopposed, and Innamorato will face Republican candidate Joseph Rockey.
The wins add to a recent body of progressive success in a crucial swing state where Republicans have made inroads in recent years. Since 2018, progressives have surged in Pennsylvania races from Congress to state legislature and local government, picking up key seats in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia along the way.
Conventional politics in swing states have typically shunned progressives in favor of moderate candidates. Tuesdays results are evidence that candidates who prioritize issues facing working people can help build the Democratic base in purple states rather than shrink it, Rep. Summer Lee, a progressive Democrat who went from the Pennsylvania state House to the U.S. House last year, said during remarks at Innamoratos election party on Tuesday night.
Back in the day when they doubted us, and they said, These crazy women cant win those state House seats, we told them back then that the power of the people was greater than the people in power, Lee said. What we showed them tonight, what weve shown them in every single election cycle since weve started is that the power of the people is always greater than the people in power.
In 2018, Innamorato was first elected to the state House along with Lee, who also represented parts of Pittsburgh. They both beat longtime incumbents in Democratic primaries. Philadelphia elected its first Working Families Party council member, Kendra Brooks, in 2019. Philadelphia organizers won election to the state House 2020. And Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey beat a Democratic incumbent and won election in 2021.
In 2022, Lee was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives after defeating a moderate Democrat and an onslaught of outside spending by conservative Democrats and Republicans. Sen. John Fettermans 2022 election over Republican candidate Mehmet Oz built on those progressive wins.
On Tuesday in Philadelphias mayoral race, though, the left candidate lost to Cherelle Parker, a former city council majority leader who had support from a cadre of Democratic officials and local unions, as well as Philadelphias Black clergy. Former city council member Helen Gym came in third place with 21 percent of the vote to Parkers 33 percent. Gyms campaign had been buoyed by endorsements from national progressives, and the last poll in the race showed her with a slight lead. A preliminary breakdown of votes by the Philadelphia Inquirer showed that Parker won in precincts that were majority Black and precincts with incomes below $75,000, while Gym had more support in wealthier and majority white communities. Parker will face Republican candidate and city council member at large David Oh in November.
As candidates focusing on issues of economic inequality, corporate profits, and social infrastructure have surged, theyve faced opposition from both Democrats and Republicans. Republican donors have worked with Democrats to fight insurgent progressive candidates in federal and local races across the country. A Republican megadonor poured out $1.1 million in the final days of the Philadelphia mayoral race to oppose Gym and influence city council races. He is also the sole donor to a new federal PAC launched to target challengers in Democratic primaries.
Preliminary takeaways from Philadelphias mayoral race have compared its dynamics to New York Citys election of Mayor Eric Adams in 2021. Parker campaigned on combating gun violence by ramping up the citys controversial stop-and-frisk policy, which contributed to overpolicing in many Black neighborhoods impacted by crime. Criticisms of the policy fueled a movement for reforms that elected District Attorney Larry Krasner in 2017 and again in 2021. Philadelphians have also endorsed candidates who support more aggressive criminal justice reforms, like city council members Brooks and Jamie Gauthier.
Right-wing media also attacked Dugan for his similarity to Krasner, who campaigned on addressing the citys unequal justice system and holding police accountable for misconduct. Krasner was reelected overwhelmingly in 2021, beating a police-backed opponent who pushed a return to aggressive policing and indiscriminate prosecution. In Allegheny County, Dugan ran a campaign focused on reforming the criminal justice system, diverting low-level offenses, ending cash bail, focusing on violent crime, and enhancing services for victims. Observers have criticized Dugan for his support from the Justice & Public Safety PAC, which is supported by George Soros.
Innamorato ran a campaign similarly focused on housing, environmental equality, investing in mental health treatment and diversion programs, ending solitary confinement, and enforcing corporate taxes. The office of Allegheny County executive is one of the most powerful in the western part of the state and controls a $3 billion annual budget.
Tonight, voters in Allegheny County showed once again that they are hungry for leaders with big ideas who will fight hard for working people, Working Families Party Mid-Atlantic Elections Director Shoshanna Israel said in a statement on Tuesday night. They rejected tough-on-crime fearmongering from a decrepit political establishment and embraced reformers who will invest in and support our communities.
Pennsylvania politics have shifted dramatically in the years since the state voted for former President Donald Trump in 2016. Trumps win energized Pennsylvania Republicans for the first time in decades. That momentum slowed after President Joe Biden flipped the state blue again in 2020, and Republicans have run increasingly extreme candidates as the party seeks to rebuild power. As an antidote, progressive candidates have sought to build coalitions and energize voters who might be new to politics or had grown disenchanted with machine politics.
This is a victory not just for Sara Innamorato and Matt Dugan, Israel continued, but for the people-powered movement that knocked on tens of thousands of doors to elect them. Its a victory for those who want an Allegheny County that works for everyone, not just the powerful and politically connected.
The rest is here:
How Progressives Won and Lost in Purple Pennsylvania - The Intercept
- Inside David Hoggs $8M Bid to Elect Young Progressives - The Trace - September 6th, 2024 [September 6th, 2024]
- Paddy-bashing and the blind spot of progressives - The Spectator - September 6th, 2024 [September 6th, 2024]
- Progressives have no doubt Silias government will shatter against next years budget - bnn-news.com - September 6th, 2024 [September 6th, 2024]
- Carson Jerema: Progressives want to control our lives, and Canadians have had it - National Post - September 2nd, 2024 [September 2nd, 2024]
- How Rabbi Michael Lerner merged spirituality and social justice and influenced a generation of progressives - Forward - September 2nd, 2024 [September 2nd, 2024]
- Leo Terrell: Progressives want us to live with criminals in our neighborhoods - Fox News - September 2nd, 2024 [September 2nd, 2024]
- DNC widened the split between liberals and progressives over whether to back Harris - Middle East Eye - September 2nd, 2024 [September 2nd, 2024]
- Democrats and progressives see more Latino young voters mobilizing for Harris - NBC News - August 29th, 2024 [August 29th, 2024]
- In blue P.G. where conservatives dominate the conversation, progressives find their voice. - Monterey County Weekly - August 29th, 2024 [August 29th, 2024]
- Trump's black men myth debunked. How Dems can win back men. How Progressives Succeed in the Election - Daily Kos - August 29th, 2024 [August 29th, 2024]
- They arent going to accept empty promises: progressives back Harris with cautious enthusiasm - The Guardian US - August 27th, 2024 [August 27th, 2024]
- Progressives once felt spurned at the DNC. Now theyre cheering it. - The Washington Post - August 27th, 2024 [August 27th, 2024]
- Harris, under pressure from progressives, addresses Israel's war in Gaza - POLITICO - August 27th, 2024 [August 27th, 2024]
- Biden 'felt compelled' to govern with progressives as part of his coalition because he felt they helped him win in 2020 - Business Insider - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- Harris isnt pushing Medicare for All anymore. Progressives say thats OK. - POLITICO - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- DNC Kicks Off as Progressives and Uncommitted Delegates Demand Harris Take Action on Gaza Genocide - Democracy Now! - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- What progressives want from Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention - The Independent - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- Harris caught in fight between donors, progressives over Big Tech power - The Hill - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- Harris is caught between billionaire donors, economic progressives, and the question of Lina Khan - Business Insider - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- Progressives face an existential threat from AIPAC. And theres nothing to stop it. - POLITICO - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- Progressives Revealing Inconsistency When Elections Dont Go Their Way - American Enterprise Institute - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- Ilhan Omar wins primary, giving huge win to progressives - The Hill - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- Kamala Harris appeals to progressives with a promise to take on price gouging amid presidency - Salon - August 11th, 2024 [August 11th, 2024]
- The Urban Family Exodus Is a Warning for Progressives - The Atlantic - August 11th, 2024 [August 11th, 2024]
- The Disingenuous Attack That Progressives Voted Against the Infrastructure Bill - Mother Jones - August 11th, 2024 [August 11th, 2024]
- Progressives demand freeze on new oil export terminals - E&E News by POLITICO - August 11th, 2024 [August 11th, 2024]
- Progressives Are Excited About Tim Walz. Should They Be? - The Atlantic - August 11th, 2024 [August 11th, 2024]
- Opinion | JD Vance Just Blurbed a Book Arguing That Progressives Are Subhuman - The New York Times - August 11th, 2024 [August 11th, 2024]
- Why Harris' Pick of Tim Walz Has Both Progressives and the GOP Happy - U.S. News & World Report - August 11th, 2024 [August 11th, 2024]
- Harris hands progressives a win by selecting Gov. Tim Walz as her VP - Business Insider - August 11th, 2024 [August 11th, 2024]
- Walz Pick Is a Win for Progressives, but What Does It Mean for November? - The Cook Political Report - August 11th, 2024 [August 11th, 2024]
- Who is Tim Walz? Harris VP pick gives progressives what they want. - USA TODAY - August 11th, 2024 [August 11th, 2024]
- Progressives have a win in Walz and a loss in Cori Bush, so what now? - The Independent - August 11th, 2024 [August 11th, 2024]
- Progressives try to send a message of resistance through the RNC security barrier - NPR - July 17th, 2024 [July 17th, 2024]
- To Defend Multiracial Democracy, Progressives Must Embrace Court Reform - American Constitution Society - July 17th, 2024 [July 17th, 2024]
- Why progressives havent joined the dump Biden chorus - Semafor - July 17th, 2024 [July 17th, 2024]
- Biden balances progressives on Israel; Vance doesnt and it shows - analysis - The Jerusalem Post - July 17th, 2024 [July 17th, 2024]
- Progressive reverses $95m May reinsurance recoverable - Reinsurance News - July 17th, 2024 [July 17th, 2024]
- Natelson: What Colorado Rep. Woodrows nasty Trump post tells us about progressives - Complete Colorado - July 17th, 2024 [July 17th, 2024]
- Progressives call for UPM to take on banks - Cayman News Service - July 17th, 2024 [July 17th, 2024]
- Dem Lawmaker Speaks Fierce Logic On Trump That He Wants Progressives To Hear - Yahoo Singapore News - July 17th, 2024 [July 17th, 2024]
- Dems in denial: Progressives gaslit us about Bidens age for years now theyre admitting the terrifying truth - New York Post - July 17th, 2024 [July 17th, 2024]
- "Pie and Politics" event hosted by East Side Progressives on July 13 - WKOW - July 17th, 2024 [July 17th, 2024]
- New York Times columnist turns on progressives - UnHerd - June 20th, 2024 [June 20th, 2024]
- France inspires Greek progressives to join forces - EURACTIV - June 20th, 2024 [June 20th, 2024]
- Fetterman, Torres, Jones Chose to Leave Progressives - New York Magazine - June 20th, 2024 [June 20th, 2024]
- AOC and progressives can't hide their role in stoking antisemitism - JNS.org - JNS.org - June 20th, 2024 [June 20th, 2024]
- Bill Gates' great $1B commitment to nuclear energy should be a wake-up call to climate progressives - New York Post - June 20th, 2024 [June 20th, 2024]
- "Westchester Progressives" New Grassroots Group Forms to Support True Progressive Values in Heated NY-16 ... - Yonkers Times - June 20th, 2024 [June 20th, 2024]
- Left and progressives form New Popular Front to counter far-right in French elections - Peoples Dispatch - June 20th, 2024 [June 20th, 2024]
- Progressives push Biden administration to cut ties with Missouri student loan servicer Missouri Independent - Missouri Independent - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
- Problems with Progressivism and Populism - Econlib - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
- Border bill boxes in Senate progressives as Schumer forges ahead with doomed vote - Washington Examiner - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
- Four progressives vie to replace the longest-serving NM state rep Source New Mexico - Source New Mexico - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
- Boulder Progressives to Host Primary Candidate Meet-and-Greet and Audience Q&A - Yellow Scene Magazine - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
- Progressives launch campaign to get upstate cities to opt in to 'good cause' law - City & State New York - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
- Commentary: Progressives are behind the wrong policies | Opinion - The Bulletin - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
- Progressive Prosecutor in Portland Faces Bitter Challenge From Co-Worker - The New York Times - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
- Will the Progressive Left Bury the Two-State Solution For Good? - Commentary Magazine - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
- Progressives warn young voters, as Biden's polling lags - Spectrum News NY1 - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
- 'Vox' Wants Progressives To Support Free Speech For The Wrong Reasons - Reason - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
- Nellie Bowles book: Who are the 'New Progressives'? - Deseret News - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
- John Fetterman will speak at Florida Democratic Party gala. Progressives want it cancelled. - The Philadelphia Inquirer - May 9th, 2024 [May 9th, 2024]
- Opinion | The progressives won again - Alabama Political Reporter - May 9th, 2024 [May 9th, 2024]
- Kennedy: Biden's In A Bit Of A Pickle With Progressives In His Party Right Now - FOX News Radio - May 9th, 2024 [May 9th, 2024]
- Progressives are wrong on Hamas rape denials - Newsday - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- Pramila Jayapal State of the Union preview: Joe Biden needs to speak to progressives. - Slate - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- Progressives Explain What They Want Out Of Biden's Big Speech - Crooked - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- Declaring the end of progressive San Francisco is a bit premature - 48 hills - 48 Hills - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- Schiff Beats Out Split Progressives On Glide Path To California Senate Seat - TPM - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- Progressive Wins and Losses in Texas' Super Tuesday Primary - Progress Texas - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- Progressives Win Two Texas District Attorney Races - Yahoo! Voices - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- State of the Union 2024: Progressive 'Squad' turns up heat on Biden with demands ahead of speech - Washington Examiner - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- Fetterman continues his feud with progressive Democrats and says they 'left' him - Washington Examiner - January 22nd, 2024 [January 22nd, 2024]
- The quandary for progressive Jews - New York Daily News - January 22nd, 2024 [January 22nd, 2024]
- Letter: I favor conservatives over progressives - The Dispatch Argus - January 22nd, 2024 [January 22nd, 2024]
- Progressives in Iceland intensify campaign against Israels genocidal war in Gaza - Peoples Dispatch - January 22nd, 2024 [January 22nd, 2024]
- Can Gov. Hochul stand up to progressives | Commentary | oleantimesherald.com - Olean Times Herald - January 22nd, 2024 [January 22nd, 2024]
- What progressives get wrong about Winston Churchill - The Spectator - January 6th, 2024 [January 6th, 2024]
- Burlington Progressives Pick Two More Candidates for March Ballot - Seven Days - January 6th, 2024 [January 6th, 2024]