Progressives in the House received a much-needed victory on Tuesday night, with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) winning her primary a week after her “squadmate,” Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo. ), lost hers.
Unlike the primaries of Bush and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (DN.Y.), who was also recently ousted, Omar’s race did not attract the involvement of the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), despite her vocal criticism of the way Israel handled its war. in Gaza. But it was still a test of the strength of the progressive wing within the Democratic Party.
Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, the last major Senate race and at least one notable House race have also solidified.
Here are five takeaways from Tuesday’s primary:
Omar gives the ‘squad’ a much-needed victory
The group of progressive House members known as the “squad” won a badly needed victory when Omar held off the same primary opponent for the second consecutive cycle.
Omar nearly lost in a shock two years ago when former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels came within 2,500 votes of unseating her. This was despite Omar significantly outperforming him, as well as having greater name recognition.
Samuels decided to face Omar in a rematch. With progressives under more intense scrutiny following their criticism of Israel’s handling of the war following Hamas’ brutal terrorist attack against the country on October 7, Omar appeared to be in a potentially vulnerable position.
He attacked her as too divisive and not focused on serving her district, while also arguing that she would be more effective in the House.
But this time some factors worked in Omar’s favor. She again greatly outspent Samuels, but this time also outspent him, an apparent recognition of the need to work to ensure an upset victory did not happen. Equally significantly, AIPAC was left out of the primaries.
Progressives can breathe a sigh of relief with his victory, but Samuels still managed to get about 43 percent of the vote, a significant margin for a primary opponent who was largely outraged and exhausted.
The last big Senate race is on
The last of this fall’s major Senate races was officially called Tuesday in Wisconsin, when businessman Eric Hovde officially clinched the Republican nomination to face Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.).
Hovde easily dispatched two secondary opponents in the primaries to win the nomination. He had the support of former President Trump, several senior figures in the Republican Party and the Republican Senate campaign arm. The race will be particularly crucial for Democrats if the party is to have a chance at maintaining its narrow majority in the Senate.
Hovde faces a challenge in his race against Baldwin, a popular two-term incumbent who has been elected twice by comfortable margins to a battleground state. One advantage Hovde will have in the race is the personal wealth he gained from his banking career.
He has already lent his campaign $13 million.
But Democrats tried to attack him because of his wealth and his ties to California, where he owned a bank. The Senate Democrats’ campaign arm released an ad calling he became a “California idiot” soon after securing the nomination.
Meanwhile, Hovde and Republicans have tied Baldwin to the Biden administration, especially on issues like inflation and immigration.
Democrats Score Big Win in Wisconsin
Wisconsin voters rejected two ballot initiatives introduced by the Republican-led legislature that would have curbed the Democratic governor’s power on fiscal matters.
One of the measures would have prohibited the state legislature from delegating its authority to direct funds to other government entities, while another would have required the governor to receive legislative approval before distributing federal funds provided to the state.
The legislature approved them twice before sending them to the ballot for voters to decide, as required by the state constitution. They were approved after millions in funding flowed into the state for Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) to shell out to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
Republicans argued that the legislature should have oversight of how the funds are being used, while Democrats, including Evers, criticized the measures as a power grab by the legislature.
The measures also received criticism because they would have added an extra step in the funding process when federal funding is often provided to deal with natural disasters and other emergencies.
Voters ended up rejecting both measures by a reasonably comfortable margin, with 57% voting against them at the time of publication. The measures were the latest development in the protracted battles between Evers and the Republican-dominated Legislature.
Trump-backed candidate achieves victory
A candidate backed by former President Trump managed to win in the primary to fill a vacancy in a solidly red House district.
Former Rep. Mike Gallager (R) represented Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District for seven years before deciding not to run for re-election and resigning in April to take a job in the private sector. His resignation triggered a special election to fill the remainder of his term, set for the same primary and general election days, to decide who will fill his position next term.
Trump threw his support behind businessman and former gas station owner Tony Wied, as well as Reps. Byron Donalds (R-Florida) and Kevin Hern (R-Okla.). But two other prominent candidates in the primaries also garnered notable endorsements.
Former Wisconsin Senate President Roger Roth had the support of former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) and Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.), along with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. State Sen. André Jacque received support from Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R).
But Weid outspent and raised his two opponents and achieved a victory in the special primary for the remainder of Gallagher’s term and in the regular primary for the following term, albeit narrowly over Roth.
A moderate Democrat will face Van Orden
Another battle between moderates and progressives took place in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District in the Democratic primary to face Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.).
Company owner Rebecca Cooke defeated state representative Katrina Shankland in a close race for the nomination. Cooke had the support of centrists like Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and the Blue Dog Coalition, while Shankland was backed by progressive groups and unions like MoveOn and the Wisconsin AFL-CIO.
Cooke will run against a close Trump ally, Van Orden, who ran unopposed for the Republican nomination. The first-term representative was present at Trump’s rally before the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Decision Desk HQ and the Cook Political Report call the Republican seat thin, but Democrats hope they can defeat Van Orden as part of their effort to retake the House majority. A moderate Democrat, former Rep. Ron Kind, represented the district for decades before retiring ahead of Van Orden’s 2022 election.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
