Cori Bush. Photo: campaign website.
After Bernie Sanders dropped out of the 2020 Presidential Primary many on the left became very cynical about the process, the Democratic party reform project and electoralism in general.
With Bernie dropping out, with the pandemic taking its toll, the inevitable financial crisis following, and the inability to organize in a physical way during the lockdowns, the American left was in a state of limbo.
As the crisis of capitalism continued to manifest itself in the States, things really came to a climax in the last week of May when the video of George Floyd’s murder went viral. The anger in the country was palpable and a sense of clarity began to take hold.
The Black Lives Matter movement, that was rejuvenated in Minneapolis, activated along side the Sunrise Movements and the Justice Democrats of the political world to upset races in New York and make gains in the Texas runoff primaries. These are races I hope to have the opportunity to cover with more depth in the future.
Cori Bush: The first Justice Democrat and a leader out of the Ferguson, MO protests in 2014, Cori Bush has always found herself at the frontlines of political, social and economic movements. She ran for this same seat, Missouri’s First Congressional District, in 2018 where she lost to Lacy Clay by roughly 30%, receiving 53,250 votes.
This year, despite COVID-19, which she contracted during the campaign, she was able to build a solid ground campaign and to raise substantial funds from working class people. She hit 10-term incumbent Lacy Clay hard, pinning him against Obama, a tactic typically used against progressives by the neoliberals.
With 100% reporting, at 4:15AM Central Time, the race was called for Cori Bush, with her winning 72,812 votes or 48.6% of the vote.
Key Squad Members Win Re-election: As the progressives and left have pressured the neoliberal dominance in the Democratic party, they’ve pushed right back. This was seen last night as Rashida Tlaib (MI-13) and Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), key members of the squad, both faced primary challenges from the right.
With 90% reporting Tlaib was declared the victor, leading Brenda Jones 66% to 34%. Jones is the same primary challenger that Tlaib beat out in the 2018 Democratic Primary for the 13th district, winning by a slim 1,000 vote margin.
Jayapal won her primary handily, topping 80% of the vote with 57% of the precincts reporting. The two-term congresswoman looks to win her re-election in November with ease.
What’s Next? Congressional Primaries will take place on:
August 6th
• Tennessee
August 11th
• Connecticut
• Minnesota (Ilhan Omar)
• Vermont
• Wisconsin (Mark Pocan)
