At the start of the primary season, Jessica Cisneros, a well-funded rising star on the left, was back for a rematch with ultra-moderate Rep. Henry Cuellar (D) in southern Texas. Firebrand Nina Turner was in a rematch with Ohio Rep. Shontel Brown (D) after losing in a special primary election last year. Kina Collins was in a rematch with Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), pitting a young progressive activist against one of Congress’s few octogenarians. And more.
They all lost.
“The primary-incumbents strategy has reached its limit—voters aren’t furious at the Democratic establishment and largely are focused on beating back Republicans,” one Democratic pollster told The Daily Beast, pinpointing a difference in the energy among Democratic voters in 2018 and 2020 versus 2022.
Some of the left’s most high-profile progressives even faced sophisticated primary challengers of their own. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) narrowly defeated moderate Don Samuels, a former Minneapolis City council member, by just 2.1 points. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) also faced a well-funded challenger from the center, and state Sen. Steven Roberts (D) gave it a go against Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO).
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