Progressive Summer Lee defeated Republican businessman Mike Doyle to represent Pennsylvania’s 12th District in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Lee, who could become a member of the “Squad,” ran on an unabashedly progressive agenda, prioritizing abortion, LGBT rights, defunding the police, and other progressive hot-button issues. Doyle ran on a centrist Republican agenda, mainly focusing on energy, inflation, and the economy, stressing his business and outsider credentials. Both attempted to paint the other as an extremist, with the word frequently appearing in the campaign messaging of either side. Lee was more convincing in the end, pulling off a victory in a historically more centrist district.
Aside from Lee’s progressive agenda, the race gained national prominence after the American Israel Public Affairs Committee made its first donation in a Republican-Democrat race, against Lee, to the tune of over $1 million, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
“We oppose Summer Lee because of her dangerous views of the U.S.-Israel alliance. AIPAC and our 2 million grassroots members proudly support progressive candidates — including 148 Democrats this cycle — who don’t check their values at the door when it comes to standing with Israel,” the organization said in a statement, following criticism from Lee and other progressives.
Though the United States’s relationship with Israel did not feature prominently at all in the campaign, comments made by Lee in the summer of 2021, likening Israel to white police who shoot black people, drew the ire of Israeli groups, particularly following her campaign success.
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Abortion became a major issue in the campaign, with Lee supporting what is likely to become some of the most radical pro-abortion rights positions in Congress, including expanding access to abortion and repealing the Hyde Amendment, which prevents federal Medicaid funds from being used for abortions, according to the Pittsburgh City Paper. Doyle, in contrast, supported a federal abortion ban with exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother, though it featured less prominently in his campaign.
Lee is now the first black woman to represent Pennsylvania. Her victory is a major boost for the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.
