Summer Lee, the Pennsylvania ‘squad’ member who beat back a primary challenge

One of many up-and-coming members of Congress scored a significant victory on April 23: Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Summer time Lee received her main problem towards Edgewood Borough Council member Bhavini Patel. A member of Congress’ progressive ‘squad,’ Lee will face Republican James Hayes in November’s common election.

What’s extra notable than Lee’s main win, although, is the discourse surrounding it. The Democratic Occasion has been cut up over the right way to cope with the Israel-Hamas battle, with extra conventional liberals backing the U.S.’ assist of Israel whereas progressive Democrats decry the nation’s alleged battle crimes in Gaza. Lee falls into the latter class, and her main victory might show to be a preview of how Democratic voters will deal with the problem in November. 

Lee does look like attempting at straddling each side of the argument, as her twelfth Congressional district has one of many largest Jewish populations in Pennsylvania. However she has additionally known as for peace “from Pittsburgh to Palestine.” In the end, her marketing campaign was “about ensuring President Biden will get reelected in November,” Lee stated in her victory speech, per NBC Information. 

Lee’s beginnings and entrance into Congress

Summer time Lee was born in Pennsylvania’s Mon Valley in 1987. She grew up within the city of North Braddock earlier than “graduating from Penn State and Howard College College of Legislation, the place she centered on civil rights and social justice advocacy,” in accordance with her Home biography. After school, Lee labored as a labor organizer round Pennsylvania, participating in efforts to extend the state’s minimal wage. A former member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Lee additionally campaigned for Bernie Sanders’ presidential run in 2016. 

In 2018, Lee ran as a Democratic candidate for the Pennsylvania Home of Representatives. She defeated her GOP opponent, a 20-year incumbent, by a big margin to turn out to be the “first Black lady from Western Pennsylvania ever elected to the [state] legislature,” her biography stated. Lee served within the state Home for 3 years, and in 2021 introduced that she was operating for the U.S. Home. She received the Democratic main in a detailed race earlier than defeating her Republican opponent within the 2022 common election by over 10 factors. Her victory made Lee the primary Black lady ever elected to the U.S. Congress from Pennsylvania.

Lee’s ‘squad’ membership and future

Upon her arrival in Washington, D.C., Lee grew to become a vocal member of the ‘squad,’ a bunch of 9 progressives within the Home that features names like Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). The squad has been outspoken about their disavowal of Israel’s actions in Gaza because the Hamas assault, and Lee has joined within the outcry.

Lee was “among the many first lawmakers to name for a cease-fire” in Gaza, Politico stated, and was considered one of only a few Democrats who not too long ago voted towards further assist for Israel. Nevertheless, on condition that many of the Democratic Occasion stays aligned behind Israel, Lee’s main was seemingly a barometer for the place the celebration stood on the problem. She was the primary member of the squad to be primaried this season, and her opponent, Bhavini Patel, “hammered the progressive freshman over her response to Israel’s battle in Gaza” and accused Lee of “ignoring [her] district’s Jewish group and undermining President Joe Biden’s coverage within the area,” stated CNN. Lee has pushed again towards these accusations, denouncing each antisemitism and Islamophobia.

Whereas pro-Israel teams tried to dismantle Lee’s marketing campaign, her “reputation within the district and the shortage of identify recognition for Patel … principally stored them off the airwaves,” CNN stated. Not solely did she win her main problem, however the make-up of her district implies that Lee seems “poised to cruise to victory come the autumn within the deep-blue district,” stated Politico. 

Whereas Democratic in-fighting over Israel and Hamas continues, Lee’s main win was a “highly effective rebuke to those that think about that progressive advocates for a cease-fire and justice for Palestinians are essentially susceptible on this 12 months’s Democratic primaries,” stated The Nation. Her vote towards further Israel and Ukraine assist got here days earlier than the first, and a “extra cautious politician might need averted a supposedly controversial vote on the eve of a high-profile main.” However the truth that she received her main in a landslide anyway reveals that “opposing genocide is sweet politics and good coverage,” stated Lee on X.