(DCWatchdog.com) – Beyond Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Senator Manchin (D-WV), progressives are eyeing the Democrats listed below who they believe are hindering their plans to remodel the country while they are still in charge of Congress.
This move is likely spurred by plans to enact the voting bills and the abandoned Build Back Better Act being frustrated by stubborn lawmakers who can prevent the liberal ideas that progressives had long dreamed of enacting when President Joe Biden took office.
According to Waleed Shaheed, a spokesperson for progressive political action committee Justice Democrats, there is a need for “strong progressives in Congress to have some sort of counterweight and leverage against the conservative, corporate-backed Democrats who are an obstacle to delivering results.”
Rep. Henry Cuellar (Texas) – Henry Cuellar, a 10-term incumbent, is on the chopping block after holding the position of centrist negotiator on Capitol Hill. Since Cuellar is currently embroiled in an FBI investigation for his alleged ties to Azerbaijan, many think it may be easier and more beneficial to remove him now. Last year, Cuellar was a significant obstacle to Democratic lawmakers’ idea of keeping Biden’s social safety net package linked to the bipartisan infrastructure bill, earning him the ire of several colleagues who said he needed something to talk up back home.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (N.Y.) – Carolyn Maloney, a three-decade House veteran, is being challenged by Rana Abdelhamid for the midterms is the Progressives’ chance to score a liberal trifecta in New York. Abdelhamid is a 28-year-old Muslim woman who represents the support and energy captured after Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and Rep Bowman were elected to Congress. Whereas Rep. Carolyn Maloney is a reminder of a corporate-backed candidate supported by the “establishment.”
Rep. Danny K. Davis (Ill.) – In an attempt to send another social justice advocate to Capitol Hill, Danny K. Davis is getting the chop. Progressives want to replace the 13-term lawmaker with Kina Collins, a 30-year old community organizer and black gun violence prevention activist. This story resembles Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.), who was defeated by Rep Cori Bush during uproar about racial unrest.
Rep. Tim Ryan (Ohio) – 10-term Rep. Tim Ryan faces Morgan Harper in the Democratic Senate primary. Harper plans to infiltrate the red state with policies like “Medicare for All” and the Green New Deal, which she believes will inspire optimism for those struggling.
Rep. Jim Cooper (Tenn.) – Odessa Kelly is the dream underdog for progressives. Challenging the 16-term conservative Democrat, Jim Cooper, Kelly is unashamedly progressive. She has already won the support of progressive groups like Brand New Congress, Indivisible, the Working Families Party, and several Tennessee community leaders. But despite the support, Kelly is unlikely to win in her Tennessee district, as the district was recently gerrymandered to lean more Republican.
