To shake up the Democratic Party, progressives turn to a primary race in Virginia
Source: Washington Post
To shake up the Democratic Party, progressives turn to a primary race in Virginia
By Fenit Nirappil and Karen Tumulty May 30 at 5:15 PM
Virginia lawmaker Marcia Price has her lefty political idols. She broke with every other Democrat in the state legislature last year to endorse Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race.
But when it comes to her states June gubernatorial primary, Price wants her liberal heroes to butt out.
They have it wrong this time, she said, weeks after Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the progressive champion from Massachusetts, took the unusual step of backing a candidate in Virginias Democratic primary.
Their decision to jump into an intraparty contest in a state where neither has roots has changed the dynamic of the race, Price said: Thats when we lose sight of whats actually happening in Virginia, and national politics and national conversation starts hijacking our campaign and our election.
With two weeks to go before the primary, Virginia has become the center of a family dispute between national progressive Democrats and state activists over the identity and future of the Democratic Party.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/to-shake-up-democratic-party-progressives-turn-to-a-race-in-virginia/2017/05/30/2882c6a6-365f-11e7-b373-418f6849a004_story.html