Heart of the Primaries, Democrats-Special Edition 8 (June 27, 2018)

Issue No. Special Edition 8

In this special post-primary edition: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeats Joe Crowley, fourth-ranking Democrat in the U.S. House, DCCC goes two-for-three, and Polis wins Colorado's gubernatorial nomination.

Ocasio-Cortez defeats Crowley

With 98 percent of precincts reporting, self-described democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) defeated the House’s fourth-ranking Democrat, Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.), in the 14th Congressional District primary 57.5 percent to 42.5 percent.

Crowley was identified as a possible successor to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). More than 20 unions, including the New York AFL-CIO and Communications Workers of America, endorsed him, as did NARAL and Planned Parenthood.

First-time candidate Ocasio-Cortez campaigned on universal Medicare coverage, the recognition of housing as a human right, and the abolition of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. She did not commit to supporting Pelosi as House Democratic leader.

Her endorsers include Justice Democrats, the New York City branch of Democratic Socialists for America, and gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon (D), who is challenging Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) in the Sept. 13 gubernatorial primary.

New York's fusion voting system, in which the name of a single candidate can appear on the ballot multiple times under multiple party lines, could still allow Crowley to play a role in November. However, in his concession statement, Crowley said he looked forward to supporting Ocasio-Cortez.

Reactions to Ocasio-Cortez's win:

• Daily Kos: “Crowley is the highest-ranking House member to lose a primary since Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor fell to tea partier Dave Brat four years ago, and it’s a sign that Democrats, especially Democrats of color, are eager for a new era of leadership.”

• Vox: “Ocasio-Cortez ran decidedly to the left of Crowley, but she also shook up how Democrats go about getting elected. Until now, Democrats have seen big money in politics as simply a deal with the devil that had to be made. Democrats are so often outspent by Republican mega-donors that they viewed courting big-dollar donors and corporations as part of creating a level playing field.”

• Washington Post: “Ocasio-Cortez personifies several trends we’ve seen this election cycle: She’s a woman. She’s young. She’s a first-time candidate. Her mother moved to New York from Puerto Rico. She won despite being outraised more than 10-to-1 because energetic activists were on her side.”

• FiveThirtyEight: “If you are a progressive Democrat, tonight was the most satisfying night of 2018 so far...However, don’t run off cherry-picking these results. Establishment Democrats have still won far more primaries overall on the year, and they even defeated progressives in a few high-profile races tonight: in Colorado’s 6th District and Colorado’s 1st District, for example.”

• Politico: “Cantor lost to Dave Brat in 2014, but Brat was emblematic of the tea party wave that had come ashore four years earlier. The Republican Party had already been struggling with -- and confronting -- the rightward-shifting elements of its party. Democrats -- especially elected Democrats in Congress -- have not had to do that yet.”

DCCC goes two-for-three in Tuesday’s Democratic primaries

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee-backed candidates won congressional primaries in CO-6 and NY-11, But in NY-24, DCCC-endorsed Juanita Perez Williams lost to Dana Balter.

Williams is the second DCCC candidate to lose this year after Brad Ashford lost to Kara Eastman in NE-2. Twenty DCCC-backed candidates have won their primaries so far.

More results from the June 26 primaries so far...

New York

Gershon wins NY-1 primary

Businessman Perry Gershon won the Democratic primary for New York’s 1st Congressional District with 35.5 percent of the vote. He faces the potentially vulnerable incumbent, Rep. Lee Zeldin (R), in November.

Gershon supported a single-payer health care system, while his main opponent, former Suffolk County legislator Kate Browning, did not.

Delgado wins in NY-19

Attorney Antonio Delgado won the Democratic primary for New York’s 19th District with 22 percent of the vote. The Latino Victory Fund and Congressional Black Caucus had endorsed his campaign.

Democrats believe incumbent Rep. John Faso (R) is vulnerable. The district last elected a Democratic representative in 2010. Barack Obama (D) won the district In 2008 and 2012, while Donald Trump won there in 2016.

For an interesting take on how the race in NY-19 played among other Democratic Party conflicts this year, listen to this recent episode of This American Life.

Cobb wins NY-21

Tedra Cobb (D) won more than 50 percent of the vote in a five-way Democratic primary in New York's 21st Congressional District and will face incumbent Elise Stefanik (R) Nov. 6.

Cobb received the “Our Revolution” endorsement from the Capital New York Progressive Action Network (NYPAN) organization. The statewide NYPAN organization endorsed former Bernie Sanders presidential delegate Patrick Nelson (D) and asked Cobb to remove social media posts promoting her endorsement. Former MSNBC television host Dylan Ratigan (D) was also a candidate.

Balter defeats DCCC-backed candidate in NY-24

Dana Balter (D) won more than 60 percent of the vote and the 24th Congressional District Democratic primary, defeating Juanita Perez Williams (D), who was part of the DCCC’s "Red to Blue" program and entered the race after local county delegates agreed to support Balter in the general election.

The DCCC’s decision to back a different candidate than the local party fueled debate over the national organization’s role in primary elections.

Balter is the second person to defeat a DCCC-backed candidate. Balter received NYPAN's "Our Revolution" endorsement, as well as support from MoveOn.org and the Working Families Party.

Williams, the 2017 Democratic nominee for mayor of Syracuse, received significant campaign contributions from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s campaign committee and leadership PAC, as well as a PAC led by U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY).

Balter faces incumbent John Katko (R) in November’s general election.

Special guest analysis: State primaries in New York

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Gus Christensen is the chief strategist of NO IDC NY. We invited him to weigh in on what Crowley’s defeat might mean for the New York state Senate primaries on September 13. The Democratic primaries feature matchups between progressives and incumbents in New York City who were formerly members of the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), which was aligned with Senate Republicans.

“We think that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's upset of Joe Crowley was only stunning to an establishment that hasn't been paying attention to the grassroots. Rank and file Democrats are beyond frustrated with a corporatist Democratic establishment that protests Trump loudly in public but doesn't fight nearly hard enough in the legislative and electoral trenches to win and pass the legislation that progressives want.

The protection of the IDC by the NYS Democratic establishment is a perfect example of that, and this should serve as a klaxon alarm bell to the world that people like former [IDC members] Jeff Klein and Jose Peralta, both of whose districts overlap with Crowley's, that their days are numbered.”

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Colorado

Polis wins Democratic nomination for governor

With 96 percent of precincts reporting, Rep. Jared Polis (D) won the Democratic gubernatorial primary. 44.7 percent to 24.7 percent over former state Treasurer Cary Kennedy (D).

Polis led in most pre-election polling and had endorsements from groups including NORML PAC and the Sierra Club as well as Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.). Polis supported free preschool and kindergarten as well as energy independence by 2040.

Kennedy campaigned on her background in education and finances, including her role in authoring a ballot measure mandating annual increases in the state’s education budget. Kennedy had labor union support, including the Communications Workers of America and the Colorado Education Association.

Also on the ballot was state Sen. Mike Johnston (D), who emphasized his Frontier Fairness slogan, and called for increased access to vocational training and community college as well as the creation of a civilian work corps.

Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne (D) touted her private sector experience and her time spent serving alongside term-limited Gov. John Hickenlooper (D). Lynne framed her campaign as a continuation of the Hickenlooper administration.

DCCC-backed candidate wins in CO-06

Attorney and former Army Ranger Jason Crow (D) defeated entrepreneur and academic Levi Tillemann (D) in the Democratic primary for Colorado's 6th District. The primary was another showdown between a DCCC-backed candidate and one running with progressive support.

The DCCC added Crow to its "Red to Blue" program. Tillemann had endorsements from state Sen. Rhonda Fields (D) and the Progressive Democrats of America.

This Democratic-leaning district supported Hillary Clinton (D) over Donald Trump (R) by nine percentage points in 2016. Crow faces incumbent Rep. Mike Coffman (R) in the general.

Degette wins in CO-O1

Rep. Diana DeGette (D) defeated Saira Rao (D), just the third Democratic challenger DeGette has faced in over 20 years, in the 1st Congressional District primary.

DeGette campaigned on the influence her position as chief deputy whip would bring should Democrats take control of the House as well as her status as ranking member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Oversight Subcommittee.

Rao rose to prominence after publishing an article saying she is "breaking up with the party," which she identified as the corporate establishment. Rao criticized Democrats for failing to address either police brutality against black Americans or disproportionate incarceration rates of minorities. Rao also criticized DeGette for receiving contributions from corporate PACs and ran on progressive policy positions like single-payer health care.

The general election is a re-match between DeGette and Republican Casper Stockham.

Leadership-backed candidates mostly dominate in Colorado state legislative primaries

Term-limited House Speaker Crisanta Duran endorsed winning candidates in three safe Denver area Democratic seats: House Districts 4 and 5 and Senate District 32. Another candidate supported by current state legislators won in District 34.

The state party did not get its preferred candidate in House District 9, where Bernie Sanders-endorsed Emily Sirota defeated leadership-backed Ashley Wheeland. The incumbent, state Rep. Paul Rosenthal, failed to make the ballot after being accused of sexual harassment in 2017.

Maryland

Jealous wins gubernatorial nomination

Former NAACP President Ben Jealous (D) won the Democratic gubernatorial primary, defeating Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker III’s (D) 39.8 percent to 29.3 percent.

Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), as well as the Working Families Party of Maryland, backed Jealous, who framed the campaign as part of the national debate over the party’s direction. His platform includes a $15 minimum wage and universal Medicare coverage.

Baker pointed to his record in Prince George’s County and called for tighter restrictions on firearms as well as investment in the Baltimore region. Baker’s endorsers included Rep. Steny Hoyer (D) and former Gov. Parris Glendening (D).

David Trone wins nomination in MD-06

Businessman and Total Wine co-founder David Trone (D) won the Democratic primary for Maryland’s 6th Congressional District 40.4 percent to 30.6 percent over state Del. Aruna Miller (D).

Trone contributed a record $10.2 million of his own money to his campaign. He was endorsed by Rep. Anthony Brown (D) and gubernatorial candidate Rushern Baker III (D), who received a combined $70,000 in contributions from the Trone family since 2015.

Miller emphasized her legislative record, particularly a bill she sponsored implementing GPS-backed enforcement for domestic protection orders. Her endorsers included the Sierra Club, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett (D), and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).

State Sen. Roger Manno (D) called for universal Medicaid coverage. Unions, including the United Auto Workers, Service Employees International Union, and Communications Workers of America, as well as progressive groups including the Working Families Party of Maryland endorsed him.

Mosby wins in three-way race for Baltimore state's attorney

Incumbent Marilyn Mosby (D) defeated two challengers to earn the Democratic nomination for Baltimore City state's attorney. Mosby became a national figure in 2015 when she filed charges against six police officers in relation to the death of Freddie Gray. Mosby ran on her record, touting a 92 percent conviction rate.

Both of her opponents, Ivan Bates (D) and Thiru Vignarajah (D), argued that Mosby's time in office played a role in rising violent crime rates in Baltimore, and criticized what they called her failure to secure any convictions in the Gray case. Hours before the polls opened, Bates threatened to sue both of his opponents if they continued to claim he lied about his record.

Mosby faces no Republican opponent in the general election.

Up next: Heart of the Primaries will take a short break for Independence Day, but we'll be back on July 16. Top races to watch after the break include…

• July 24 runoffs for Georgia's 6th and 7th congressional districts. The race in the 6th features gun policy activist Lucy McBath against businessman Kevin Abel.
• Primaries in Michigan districts with open seats — the 11th and 13th congressional districts. The 11th is being vacated by David Trott (R), and Democrats hope to pick up the district in the fall. The eventual winner in the 13th will be the district's first new representative since 1964. Longtime incumbent John Conyers (D) resigned in 2017 following allegations of sexual harassment.
• Aug. 2 statewide primaries in Tennessee, followed by Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, and Washington on Aug. 7.