• 2hundredpancakes@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    7 days ago

    Save you a click: overthrow of the establishment DNC is possible and it’s happening. Also, AIPAC money can’t buy everything.

    Progressive California state Sen. Aisha Wahab has won a special election to serve the remainder of disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s term in the US Congress, defeating a centrist Democrat backed by millions of dollars in AIPAC spending.

    … In November, Wahab will face Bay Area Rapid Transit board member Melissa Hernandez again in a race for a full two-year term in the US House.

    • bedwyr@piefed.ca
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      7 days ago

      To do that we need a range of populist candidates for all regions. We only have inner city populists, and not that many really.

      Why do we not have more challengers? There isn’t a lack of left populists in any area in this country. Don’t think they couldn’t win.

      • Manjushri@piefed.social
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        6 days ago

        Why do we not have more challengers?

        Probably because until now it there wasn’t a reasonable expectation to win. Before the last cycle or two, the few progressive candidates that had the resources to run tended to get plowed under in the primaries and rarely saw the light of day by the time the general elections rolled around. That will hopefully change now because of victories like this and the fact that progressives are now seen to be winning in primaries around the country, even against established, old-guard democrats. Many more progressive hopefuls may now see a realistic path to office and throw their hats into the ring allowing even more establishment dems to be rousted from office.

        As you can see, I’m very hopeful that this is the start of something big. I know that there are many things that could derail this, not the least of which is the authoritarian take over of the federal government, but hope is what I got, so I’m clinging to it. If the nation survives another election or two, we could see huge changes in this country.

      • 2hundredpancakes@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        7 days ago

        That’s a great question I don’t know the answer to. It might be that many left-leaning folks are disillusioned with the political system at large and choose to disengage. The country does have a fantastically low voter participation rate, which itself says things about the citizens’ faith in the system. I’m hopeful that current events, and victories like this one, will push more hopefuls to run as challengers.