Summer Lee, ‘Squad’ member, wins Democratic house primary in Pennsylvania

Rep. Summer Lee, a first-term progressive Democrat, won her primary contest in western Pennsylvania on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, fending off a moderate challenger in a race that centered on her stance on the war in the Gaza Strip.

The primary, in Pennsylvania’s 12th District, presented one of this year’s first down-ballot tests of whether left-wing incumbents would be hurt by their opposition to Israel’s military campaign.

After Lee for months faced scrutiny for voting against support for Israel, her victory was partly seen as a reflection of how public, and party, sentiment on the issue has appeared to shift in her favor.

Lee was winning by an overwhelming margin with counting nearly complete late Tuesday, underlining the strength of her position as an incumbent this year after she outraised her opponent with widespread backing from Democratic officials.

Lee, who in 2022 was elected the first Black woman to represent Pennsylvania in Congress and later joined the group of left-leaning lawmakers known as the Squad, defeated Bhavini Patel, a city councilwoman in Edgewood, Pennsylvania. Patel ran as a more moderate Democrat and tried to paint Lee as dismissive of voters who oppose her approach to the conflict in Gaza. The seat is considered safely Democratic in the general election.

A former state representative, Lee, 36, narrowly won a primary fight in the district two years ago against a centrist opponent favored by the party’s establishment. Her victory was heralded by left-leaning organizations and leaders as a win for the progressive movement.

This year, Lee, now the incumbent, garnered support across the Democratic spectrum. Her endorsers included Pennsylvania’s senators, House Democratic leaders, labor unions and the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, which opposed her candidacy in 2022. Progressive groups spent large sums on her behalf, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., stumped for her in Pittsburgh on Sunday.

With more than 95% of the vote counted, she led Patel by more than 20 points. Lee played up that success as a testament that “our movement is growing” and denounced those who she said “wanted to make this a referendum on just one issue.”

“Our movement is expansive enough and big enough for each and every one of us, that each and every one of us can lay down our arms and cease fire so that we can have peace from Pittsburgh to Palestine,” she said.

In the fall, after Lee became one of the first Democrats to call for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, pro-Israel groups expressed interest in backing a challenger. But a serious opponent never materialized. AIPAC, the pro-Israel group that is supporting challenges to some left-wing candidates and that spent heavily against Lee in 2022, focused its attention elsewhere. Polls have shown that discontent with Israel’s military actions has been growing among Americans in recent months.

Still, Lee drew criticism in her district from some Jewish voters, who said in the days before the election that they were unhappy with her positions on Israel. Patel, 30, also tried to cast her opponent as insufficiently supportive of President Joe Biden. Lee has pledged to rally her coalition to support Biden this fall in Pennsylvania, a critical swing state.

Lee and her allies seized on Patel’s support from Jeff Yass, a prominent Republican donor in Pennsylvania who gave significantly to a super PAC supporting moderate Democrats. The group ran ads on behalf of Patel, who disavowed Yass and his support.

Patel said in a statement on social media that “we did not get the result we wanted tonight, but this race was far from a loss.”

“While our campaign may end tonight, our cause continues on,” she added.

During the primary, Lee often promoted her record in Congress, including having brought federal dollars to the district, and framed her candidacy around supporting a more diverse Democratic Party and fighting Trump-aligned Republicans. She vastly outraised Patel. In the last fundraising quarter, Lee collected more than three times as much money as Patel did.

Speaking to an energetic crowd in downtown Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, Lee also pledged to support her fellow Squad members facing challenges nationwide.

“We’re going to send a message to our Congress, and we’re going to send a message to our nation, that the direction that we want our country to go in — our coalition — is the coalition of now and the coalition of the future,” she said.

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