When the Allegheny County Democratic Committee endorsed the May 17 primary last month, it rejected three progressive women incumbents – all of whom had been here before.
The county party – whose endorsement is non-binding but appears on a business card sent to registered Democrats in the county – has endorsed primary opponents Reps. Summer Lee, Jessica Benham and Emily Kinkead.
For the most part, officials appear to have taken the rejection in stride, raising the question of whether the ACDC seal of approval is still valid. The commission faced criticism for this high application feescharging candidates an $8,000 fee to solicit an endorsement. All three women were passed over by the committee in previous races, and yet all three won suitable breeds.
“I’m not worried — votes of less than 60 people do not constitute an afterthought from the 36th district,” said Rep. Jessica Benham, D-Allegheny County, when asked for her thoughts on the committee endorsing her primary opponent Stephanie Fox by a 34-24 vote. “Their candidate received about 15% of the vote in the 2020 primary election. The bottom line is Democratic support is what really matters, so I look forward to talking to more of my voters and get their votes by seeking re-election.”
Indeed, Benham won her 2020 primary against Heather Kass, who received the party’s support despite previous Facebook posts supporting former President Donald Trump.
Perhaps the most egregious of the county party’s 2022 clashes involved Rep. Summer Lee, the first Black woman elected to the state Legislature from southwestern Pennsylvania.
Lee is running to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Mike Doyle in the newly drawn race for the 12th Congressional District and is also defending his state house seat in the 34th Congressional District. She has not been endorsed by the county party in either race. However, the committee also did not endorse incumbent Lee in 2020, and she easily defeated her primary opponent, just as she defeated incumbent Paul Costa in the 2018 primary.
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However, Lee received the support of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. for the 2022 race.
Sanders said Lee “will stand up to the interests of big money and fight for an agenda that puts the working class first.” He added that Lee is a “supporter of Medicare for All, a $15 minimum wage, expanding voting rights and the Green New Deal.”
And on the same day that the county party voted to endorse its opponent, Lee received the nomination support for the progressive 14th District Independent Democratic Club.
Kinkead, who defeated incumbent Adam Ravenstahl in the 2020 primary for a state House seat, lost this year’s county party endorsement to Nick Mastros, a 65-year-old political newcomer who owns the Allegheny Sandwich Shoppe on the North Side.
When asked about his political stance, Mastros he recently told WESA-FM that “I can’t right now, you know, off the top of my head tell you what I’m for and what I’m against.”
Kinkead, whose 20th House District was redrawn to include more suburban areas, mocked on Twitter after announcing his endorsement.
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“Hey ACDC, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,” she said he tweeted. “Last time I lost that vote 101-11. And so we won where it counted. We’ll do it again. Who is with me?”
For his part, Benham notes that organizations like the county party are not helping to attract much-needed younger voters to the polls as Democrats across the country face an uphill battle in the 2022 midterms.
“As a party, we certainly need to do more to excite young voters, especially in the midterms,” she said. “And one way we can do that is by not dismissing our junior officials.”
Kim Lyons represents Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania with Capital-Star. She wrote this article for the Pittsburgh City Paper, where he first appeared. Readers can follow her on Twitter @SocialKimLy.
