Doug Schoen: Why Tuesday's primary results should worry both political parties
Tuesday’s primary elections provide clear evidence of the ascendancy of fringe movements and candidates
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The results of Tuesday’s primary elections pose one major question: will either political party be pushed further out of the mainstream, given the victories of two extremist candidates in Minnesota and Georgia?
On the Democratic side, the outcome of Tuesday’s primary election in Minnesota underscores the mounting pressure that the newly formed Biden-Harris Democratic presidential ticket faces to embrace left-leaning positions on issues—just when the party was hoping to distance itself from these stances. Such policies include defunding the police, opposing Israel, and embracing a Green New Deal.
Indeed, in Minnesota’s 5th congressional district, Rep. Ilhan Omar, a member of “the Squad” of first-term progressive congresswomen, handily won her primary against a well-funded challenger, Antone Melton-Meaux, who raised six-times the amount that Omar did in the second quarter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}REP. ILHAN OMAR BEATS BACK DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY CHALLENGE IN MINNESOTA
While Melton-Meaux was also viewed as being relatively progressive, and many even saw the election as a referendum on Omar rather than on policy, Omar took a markedly further left stance on several key issues.
We can expect that this string of progressive victories will force Biden and Harris to move out of the center and make them more vulnerable to attacks by President Trump, who has already been pushing the narrative that the Democrats are a far-left party.
Though Omar and Melton-Meaux both emphasized the need for racial justice and an end to systematic racism, Omar’s position went one step further, as she embraced calls to defund the police, joining several other progressive members of her congressional caucus.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Further, while Melton-Meaux positioned himself as an advocate and ally of Israel and received support from pro-Israel groups, Omar is one of the most outspoken critics of Israel in Congress and came under fire in 2019 for making a series of anti-Semitic remarks.
Similarly, in June, we witnessed Democratic primary voters reject another advocate of Israel in favor of a progressive newcomer with questionable views towards our most critical Middle-Eastern ally.
In New York, Rep. Elliot Engel, who chaired the House Foreign Affairs Committee and was a stalwart advocate of Israel, lost to former educator Jamaal Bowman, another up-and-coming progressive.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Indeed, we can expect that this string of progressive victories will force Biden and Harris to move out of the center and make them more vulnerable to attacks by President Trump, who has already been pushing the narrative that the Democrats are a far-left party.
And ultimately, Omar’s victory makes Trump’s re-election case even more credible to independent voters and moderate Republican voters.
Though many of these voters have recently become disaffected with Trump, many are likely to be dissuaded from voting for Biden due to the Democrats’ demonstrable leftward movement and growing calls to defund the police in the midst of violence and looting in major cities, such as Chicago.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}However, the results of the run-off Republican primary in Georgia’s 14th congressional district on Tuesday reveal that there are also challenges facing Trump and Republicans.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is known to hold racist and conspiratorial views and has embraced QAnon, an FBI-labeled domestic terror threat that claims there is a deep state conspiracy against Trump, defeated Dr. John Cowan, the Republican establishment choice.
Greene’s victory is both remarkable and a worrying sign for Republicans, given that both candidates pitched themselves as pro-Trump, but Greene had a long history of racist, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic, and conspiratorial statements, which prompted national and state Republican leaders to oppose her.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Further, given that the district is a Republican stronghold, it is almost certain that Greene will win the congressional seat in November.
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To be sure, the victory of a far-right conspiratorial candidate like Greene is problematic for Republicans in congressional elections in Georgia, as well as for Trump’s chances of winning the state. Indeed, Georgia was a once-Republican stronghold, though has trended blue in recent years, and is even considered to be a toss-up in the presidential election.
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Accordingly, Georgia Democrats quickly seized on Greene’s victory, tying her to other Republican candidates who are running for Congress in Georgia, while also making a broader statement about the national Republican party’s concerning embrace of far-right candidates and ideals.
“Republican extremism is on the ballot across Georgia and Marjorie Taylor Greene’s primary win tonight after embracing vile racism and conspiracy theories represents exactly what’s wrong with today’s GOP,” the Executive Director of Georgia’s Democratic party, Scott Hogan, said a statement.
Hogan added that Greene’s “candidacy was designed to benefit Karen Handel and her words have been embraced by Rich McCormick”—two other Republicans running for Congress in Georgia this year.
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Ultimately, the results of Tuesday’s primary elections provide clear evidence of the ascendancy of fringe movements and candidates within both major parties.
However, it is clear to me that Omar’s victory and the threat of the progressive movement overtaking the mainstream Democratic party poses a greater challenge to Joe Biden and the Democrats than Greene’s victory does to Donald Trump and the GOP.
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