HOW PROGRESSIVES WON — AND LOST — IN PURPLE PENNSYLVANIA – By Akela Lacy (The Intercept) / May 17, 2023
Tuesday’s primary races brought mixed results, with left candidates dominating in Pittsburgh and stalling in Philadelphia.
PROGRESSIVE CANDIDATES IN Pittsburgh won two key races on Tuesday. Reform candidate and chief public defender Matt Dugan ousted a longtime tough-on-crime incumbent to win the primary for district attorney in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County. State Rep. Sara Innamorato won the Democratic primary for Allegheny County executive. Both will advance to general elections in November. Dugan is currently running unopposed, and Innamorato will face Republican candidate Joseph Rockey.
The wins add to a recent body of progressive success in a crucial swing state where Republicans have made inroads in recent years. Since 2018, progressives have surged in Pennsylvania races from Congress to state legislature and local government, picking up key seats in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia along the way.
Conventional politics in swing states have typically shunned progressives in favor of moderate candidates. Tuesday’s results are evidence that candidates who prioritize issues facing working people can help build the Democratic base in purple states rather than shrink it, Rep. Summer Lee, a progressive Democrat who went from the Pennsylvania state House to the U.S. House last year, said during remarks at Innamorato’s election party on Tuesday night.
CONTINUE > https://theintercept.com/2023/05/17/pennsylvania-election-progressive-candidates/
