Consultant Summer time Lee, a first-term progressive Democrat, gained her major contest in western Pennsylvania on Tuesday, in response to The Related Press, heading off a average challenger in a race that centered on her stance on the struggle in Gaza.
The first, in Pennsylvania’s twelfth District, offered one among this yr’s first down-ballot checks of whether or not left-wing incumbents could be harm by their opposition to Israel’s army marketing campaign. After Ms. Lee for months confronted scrutiny for voting towards assist for Israel, her victory was partly seen as a mirrored image of how public, and get together, sentiment on the difficulty has appeared to shift in her favor.
The congresswoman was successful by an amazing margin with counting practically full late Tuesday, underlining the power of her place as an incumbent this yr after she out-raised her opponent with widespread backing from Democratic officers.
Ms. Lee, who in 2022 was elected the primary Black girl to symbolize Pennsylvania in Congress and later joined the group of left-leaning lawmakers referred to as the Squad, defeated Bhavini Patel, a metropolis councilwoman in Edgewood, Pa. Ms. Patel ran as a extra average Democrat and tried to color Ms. Lee as dismissive of voters who oppose her strategy to the battle in Gaza. The seat is taken into account safely Democratic within the common election.
A former state consultant, Ms. Lee, 36, narrowly gained a major battle within the district two years in the past towards a centrist opponent favored by the get together’s institution. Her victory was heralded by left-leaning organizations and leaders as a win for the progressive motion.
This yr, Ms. Lee, now the incumbent, garnered assist throughout the Democratic spectrum. Her endorsers included Pennsylvania’s senators, Home Democratic leaders, labor unions and the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, which opposed her candidacy in 2022. Progressive teams spent giant sums on her behalf, and Consultant Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, stumped for her in Pittsburgh on Sunday.
With greater than 95 p.c of the vote counted, she led Ms. Patel by greater than 20 factors. Ms. Lee performed up that success as a testomony that “our motion is rising” and denounced those that she stated “wished to make this a referendum on only one difficulty.”
“Our motion is expansive sufficient and large enough for every one among us, that every one among us can lay down our arms and stop fireplace in order that we are able to have peace from Pittsburgh to Palestine,” she stated.
Within the fall, after Ms. Lee grew to become one of many first Democrats to name for a right away cease-fire in Gaza, pro-Israel teams expressed curiosity in backing a challenger. However a critical opponent by no means materialized. AIPAC, the pro-Israel group that’s supporting challenges to some left-wing candidates and that spent closely towards Ms. Lee in 2022, targeted its consideration elsewhere. Polls have proven that discontent with Israel’s army actions has been rising amongst Individuals in latest months.
Nonetheless, Ms. Lee drew criticism in her district from some Jewish voters, who stated within the days earlier than the election that they have been sad along with her positions on Israel. Ms. Patel, 30, additionally tried to solid her opponent as insufficiently supportive of President Biden. Ms. Lee has pledged to rally her coalition to assist Mr. Biden this fall in Pennsylvania, a essential swing state.
Ms. Lee and her allies seized on Ms. Patel’s assist from Jeff Yass, a distinguished Republican donor in Pennsylvania who gave considerably to a brilliant PAC supporting average Democrats. The group ran adverts on behalf of Ms. Patel, who disavowed Mr. Yass and his assist.
Ms. Patel stated in an announcement on social media that “we didn’t get the consequence we wished tonight, however this race was removed from a loss.” “Whereas our marketing campaign could finish tonight, our trigger continues on,” she added.
In the course of the major, Ms. Lee usually promoted her file in Congress, together with having introduced federal {dollars} to the district, and framed her candidacy round supporting a extra numerous Democratic Occasion and combating Trump-aligned Republicans. She vastly out-raised Ms. Patel. Within the final fund-raising quarter, Ms. Lee collected greater than thrice as a lot cash as Ms. Patel did.
Chatting with an brisk crowd in downtown Pittsburgh on Tuesday evening, Ms. Lee additionally pledged to assist her fellow Squad members dealing with challenges nationwide.
“We’re going to ship a message to our Congress, and we’re going to ship a message to our nation, that the route that we would like our nation to go in — our coalition — is the coalition of now and the coalition of the longer term,” she stated.
