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The Bernie Congress: meet the insurgents trying to recreate Sanders's movement down ballot
Who are the key players trying to bring the "Bernie Congress" to life?Pinpointing the movement exactly is a bit like trying to hit a moving target. But there are at least key high-profile races to watch where explicitly pro-Sanders candidates have also been endorsed by the Vermont senator, according to Kyle Kondik, of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics:
1) Tim Canova, a law and public finance professor at Nova Southeastern University, challenging Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz in the primary for Florida's 23rd Congressional District.
This race, more than any others, is at the top of Sanders supporters' list. Wasserman Schultz has become a key villain in the Democratic primary, scheduling debates that seemed designed for low viewership and openly backing Hillary Clinton. Canova has tightly hugged Sanders, echoing the Vermont senator's call to "join the revolution" on the campaign trail, according to the New York Times.
Tim Canova, who is running to unseat DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, may be the most visible congressional candidate drawing from Bernie Sanders's national insurgency. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Canova, a Federal Reserve expert, has raised more than $1 million after getting Bernie's endorsement. But he'll still face steep odds in a district that voted for Clinton over Sanders and for Wasserman Schultz by huge margins since she was first elected to the post in 2006.
2) Zephyr Teachout, a Fordham law professor who beat expectations but lost in a primary challenge against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2014, is running for an open seat in New York's 19th Congressional District.
Though favored in the Democratic primary, Teachout is the underdog in the Republican-leaning Catskills region of the state, according to the Cook Political Report. Teachout began her career as an academic at Fordham and has written what Sanders recently called "the book" on money in politics, Corruption in America: From Benjamin Franklin's Snuff Box to Citizens United.
3) State Sen. Pramila Jayapal is running for an open seat in Washington's seventh district, which encompasses most of Seattle. The district is one of the most liberal in the country and overwhelmingly supported Sanders in its caucuses in March.
Born in India, Jayapal has become nationally known as an immigrant rights activist, according to a profile in the Seattle Times. Jayapal founded an advocacy organization called OneAmerica to combat anti-immigrant backlash after 9/11.
4) Lucy Flores, a former Nevada State Assembly member, is running in a four-way race for Congress in southern Nevada. The state's kingmaker, Sen. Harry Reid, has endorsed one of her opponents. But her fundraising has taken off since she endorsed Sanders this February, thrusting her back into the spotlight.
And as a Hispanic woman who has been unapologetic about her support for abortion rights, she is the kind of candidate many Sanders supporters say reflects the true diversity of their base.
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Lucy Flores, a prominent Sanders booster, is challenging the Democratic Party in Nevada with a congressional run.
Then there are another 20 or so long-shot candidates — like a librarian in South Carolina and a Daily Kos blogger in Washington state — who haven't been endorsed by Sanders but are trying knock off incumbent Democrats by recreating his platform. (Howie Klein, a progressive activist, started a fundraising page called the "Bernie Congress" for this group.)
Beyond these insurgents, nine current Democratic members of the House and one US senator, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, have endorsed Sanders.
1) Tim Canova, a law and public finance professor at Nova Southeastern University, challenging Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz in the primary for Florida's 23rd Congressional District.
This race, more than any others, is at the top of Sanders supporters' list. Wasserman Schultz has become a key villain in the Democratic primary, scheduling debates that seemed designed for low viewership and openly backing Hillary Clinton. Canova has tightly hugged Sanders, echoing the Vermont senator's call to "join the revolution" on the campaign trail, according to the New York Times.
Tim Canova, who is running to unseat DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, may be the most visible congressional candidate drawing from Bernie Sanders's national insurgency. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Canova, a Federal Reserve expert, has raised more than $1 million after getting Bernie's endorsement. But he'll still face steep odds in a district that voted for Clinton over Sanders and for Wasserman Schultz by huge margins since she was first elected to the post in 2006.
2) Zephyr Teachout, a Fordham law professor who beat expectations but lost in a primary challenge against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2014, is running for an open seat in New York's 19th Congressional District.
Though favored in the Democratic primary, Teachout is the underdog in the Republican-leaning Catskills region of the state, according to the Cook Political Report. Teachout began her career as an academic at Fordham and has written what Sanders recently called "the book" on money in politics, Corruption in America: From Benjamin Franklin's Snuff Box to Citizens United.
3) State Sen. Pramila Jayapal is running for an open seat in Washington's seventh district, which encompasses most of Seattle. The district is one of the most liberal in the country and overwhelmingly supported Sanders in its caucuses in March.
Born in India, Jayapal has become nationally known as an immigrant rights activist, according to a profile in the Seattle Times. Jayapal founded an advocacy organization called OneAmerica to combat anti-immigrant backlash after 9/11.
4) Lucy Flores, a former Nevada State Assembly member, is running in a four-way race for Congress in southern Nevada. The state's kingmaker, Sen. Harry Reid, has endorsed one of her opponents. But her fundraising has taken off since she endorsed Sanders this February, thrusting her back into the spotlight.
And as a Hispanic woman who has been unapologetic about her support for abortion rights, she is the kind of candidate many Sanders supporters say reflects the true diversity of their base.
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Lucy Flores, a prominent Sanders booster, is challenging the Democratic Party in Nevada with a congressional run.
Then there are another 20 or so long-shot candidates — like a librarian in South Carolina and a Daily Kos blogger in Washington state — who haven't been endorsed by Sanders but are trying knock off incumbent Democrats by recreating his platform. (Howie Klein, a progressive activist, started a fundraising page called the "Bernie Congress" for this group.)
Beyond these insurgents, nine current Democratic members of the House and one US senator, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, have endorsed Sanders.
http://www.vox.com/2016/5/30/11762088/bernie-sanders-congress-explained
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