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Yet its super PAC sister, the United Democracy Project, claims to support candidates who “come together in support of our democracy and other democracies around the world.” UDP has run ads for Shontel Brown in Ohio’s 11th ( using the same messaging as in 2021), as well as key races in blue districts in North Carolina and Pennsylvania where progressives have an opportunity to win. The first, AIPAC PAC, has endorsed 109 of the 147 Republicans who voted against certifying the presidential election on January 6, 2021. But Brown’s victory gave the establishment proof of concept and major momentum, and as the primary season heats up in the next few months, outside money is likely to be the defining feature of Democratic politics in this cycle.Īs the primary season heats up in the next few months, outside money is likely to be the defining feature of Democratic politics in this cycle.įor example, buoyed by DMFI’s win, longtime pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC formed two campaign PACs for the first time to play in primary races. If Turner had held off Brown, maybe the corporate money train would have been seen as a losing proposition. Like a scout team checking for favorable battlefield terrain, DMFI’s success gave way to much bigger and deeper-pocketed groups flooding House primaries, overwhelming the progressive small-donor strategy. Brown’s victory over Turner cemented a model that is being used all across the country: found a nominally issues-based super PAC, and pour in millions of dollars to take down the most progressive candidate in a congressional race, with ads that have nothing to do with that particular issue. But the legacy of last year’s race goes well beyond Cleveland. And DMFI is back again spending money on Brown’s behalf. Turner is facing Brown again this year, in a primary race being held today. And DMFI’s vendors also work for Democratic Party groups like the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and Senate Majority PAC. The PAC almost single-handedly took over the reins of a lifeless campaign and turned it into a winner.įunding for this effort largely came from a collection of oil company executives, investment fund managers, and the former chairman of multilevel marketing firm Rodan + Fields.
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DMFI spent around $2 million on TV and other advertisements in the race, and that was enough to help Brown secure a comeback victory. The ads pulled messaging directly from an unmistakable banner on Brown’s campaign website, focusing on Turner’s divisiveness and some choice negative comments she made about Joe Biden during the 2020 campaign. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Democratic Majority for Israel’s ads in Ohio had little or nothing to do with Israel. Like in the New York campaign pitting Engel against Rep. Though Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) was active in campaigns prior to 2021, including supporting Joe Biden and the ultimately losing campaign of former House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Eliot Engel, OH-11 is where they made their stand, getting behind Shontel Brown in a race against former Bernie Sanders surrogate Nina Turner. A revitalized progressive campaign infrastructure, candidates that fit the districts in which they ran, and a nationally energized donor network made this possible, and for a minute, the long-term outlook was pretty positive.īut the race in the 11th District saw the first successful counterattack to this strategy, from a group of outside donors who represented the old-guard establishment. The idea was to take shots in favorable seats, challenging moderates and moving the center of gravity within the party.
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Progressives saw it as another prime opportunity, similar to ones they took advantage of in a series of 2020 primaries. Then–Democratic congressional candidate Shontel Brown waves to voters at the Bedford Community Center, November 2, 2021, in Bedford Heights, Ohio.Ī year ago, the elevation of Marcia Fudge to secretary of housing and urban development created a vacancy in Ohio’s deep-blue 11th Congressional District in Cleveland.