Exclusive: Rep. Pramila Jayapal issues midterm endorsements in effort to boost progressives
Jayapal's slate of endorsements underscores efforts by progressives to swing the Democratic Party to the left and to make gains on priorities from police reform to the tax code to voting rights.
Dylan Wells- Jayapal was elected chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus in 2020.
- The endorsement of five House candidates mark Jayapal's first personal foray into the midterms.
- If Democrats lose the House in November, Jayapal won't be surprised if progressives are blamed.
Its been a challenging year for progressives in Congress. Having helped elect Joe Biden President in 2020 and turn the Senate blue, they had hoped for dramatic policy gains in the environment, health care and social justice.
Instead, they saw key priorities – from voting rights to Biden's social spending plan – fizzle out in a Congress that Democrats control by extremely narrow margins. Moderate senators Joe Manchin, D-W.V., and Kristen Sinema, D-Ariz., seem to wield more influence than the much larger - and growing - liberal wing.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, is eager to grow progressives' influence come November.
Jayapal released her first slate of midterm endorsements on Friday. The five she's recommending for election this year – shared first with USA Today – mark Jayapal's first personal foray into the 2022 election and offer insight into her vision of the types of candidates that can help progressives win in November.
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The candidates are Nida Allam in North Carolina's 4th Congressional District, Donna Edwards in Maryland's 4th Congressional District, Robert Garcia in California's 42nd Congressional District, Summer Lee in Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District, and Delia Ramirez in Illinois' 3rd Congressional District.
"These are people who understand how to build a collective force, and will be really helpful in the CPC's ongoing efforts to increase our leverage and our power, and make the entire Democratic caucus stronger," Jayapal told USA TODAY.
"We need young people, progressives, people of color across the country to be with Democrats to earn their trust and earn their vote," she said.
Jayapal acknowledged the areas progressives fell short, but touts the gains they made with Biden to help struggling families weather a global pandemic and the ensuing economic fallout.
"Even though we have not gotten everything we have pushed for, the reality is the organized force of progressives in the House has been key to the successes we have had, from the American Rescue Plan, to stimulus checks making sure that we got money in people's pockets, the child tax credit, to the work that we did that got blocked by the Senate," Jayapal said.
"I know how frustrating it is, and how many families are still in hardship," she said. "But we did go from crisis to hardship, and we did make incredible great gains that were blocked by Republicans and some conservative Democrats in the Senate."
Jayapal spoke to USA TODAY on the very day that Biden achieved arguably his most important victory for progressives: the Senate confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson to become the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court.
The odds of Democrats keeping the House are considered slim, given historical trends, Biden's low approval numbers and voters' worries about rising inflation, high gas prices and other pocketbook issues.
Jayapal, first elected to Congress in 2016, also will contribute $5,000 to each campaign before the primaries. She represents Washington's 7th Congressional District, centered around the Seattle area and made history as the first South Asian American woman elected to the House.
The progressive case
Jayapal, 56, was elected chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus in 2020 after a career as an advocate on immigration and global health issues. Many progressive priorities have been blocked in the interim, including voting rights legislation, police reform, and the sweeping Build Back Better bill
"If we can maintain our majorities, but hopefully increase our majorities in the House but also in the Senate, then we have a real shot of getting even more things across the line," she said.
Jayapal didn't rule out endorsing in Senate races. She later noted that in the past she has endorsed against incumbents, and didn't rule out doing so again this cycle.
As Democrats weigh midterm messaging, Jayapal said "I think you have to acknowledge that that there are a lot of people that are still struggling. I don't think we can make it seem like everything is is is great, but it's sort of like a better day's message."
If Democrats lose the House in November, Jayapal won't be surprised if progressives are blamed.
"Progressives are blamed for everything. It doesn't matter what we do," she laughed. "But I think the reason that people blame progressives is because they don't like that they see we have increasing power in this country, that the country is with us have a lot of these ideas in Republican, Democratic and Independent districts."
Meet the candidates
Allam, the first Muslim woman to serve in public office in North Carolina, serves on the Durham County Board of Commissioners and previously was a political director for Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign in 2016. Allam cites the 2015 killing of three Muslim Chapel Hill students – her friends – as influencing her interest in politics. She has been endorsed by Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, the only two Muslim women in Congress. Allam is running to replace retiring Rep. David Price, D-N.C., and faces a number of primary challengers.
Edwards previously served in the House from 2008 until 2017. Before that, she co-founded the National Network to End Domestic Violence. Edwards is running to replace retiring Democratic Rep. Anthony Brown, who announced he is running for Maryland Attorney General.
Garcia, the former mayor of Long Beach, is running in a newly drawn seat and has garnered endorsements from many current members of Congress including California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla. If elected, he would be the the first LGBTQ immigrant in Congress.
Lee, a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, is running to replace retiring Democratic Rep. Mike Doyle. If elected, she would be the first Black woman to represent Pennsylvania in Congress.
Ramirez is a member of the Illinois House of Representatives, and says she is running to be the first Latina Congresswoman from the Midwest. She is running for a newly drawn seat.