Summer Lee, Bhavini Patel face off in contentious Democratic primary for Congress

In October, Edgewood Councilwoman Bhavini Patel announced she would challenge U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, in the upcoming primary election, running against the fiery progressive for a second time.

Five days later, on Oct. 7, Hamas attacked Israel, and suddenly war in the Middle East dominated the race for Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District.

Lee’s progressive stances hinted at a potential liability. Her vocal sympathy for Palestinians led some in Pittsburgh’s sizable Jewish community to criticize the freshman congresswoman. They took offense at her votes against pro-Israel resolutions introduced by Republicans.

Less than two weeks after the war broke out, with public sentiment on Israel’s side, Lee became one of the first lawmakers to call for a cease-fire. Dozens of local rabbis condemned her.

Patel, who had withdrawn from the crowded 2022 primary that Lee won, pounced on the political headwinds buffeting Lee. The second-­time challenger quickly aligned herself with Jewish voters and attacked her opponent as being absent.

Patel met with influential Jewish donors in Squirrel Hill and appeared set to benefit from an anticipated flow of cash from national pro-Israel groups, who had spent heavily to oust Lee in 2022.

But that funding never came through for Patel. Public sentiment shifted against Israel as its armed forces pummeled Gaza, driving the death toll of Palestinian civilians into the tens of thousands.

As the months passed, the hot-button foreign-policy issue that loomed over the race’s early days receded, leaving the candidates to battle over domestic affairs and matters of political identity, such as who is the truest Democrat and which one best supports President Joe Biden.

Apart from disagreements over Israel and the president, the candidates don’t differ on much when it comes to policy. Both support traditional Democratic priorities, such as taking action on climate change and raising the minimum wage. Both back access to abortion, organized labor and LGBTQ rights. Their biggest differences come down to style, with Lee leaning into her activist roots, sometimes casting maverick votes, and Patel preferring to toe the mainstream Democratic line.

With just over a week until voters head to the polls, observers say that Lee has managed to survive her mainstream challenger’s attacks and reestablish momentum in the region’s most high-profile race.

Attack, counterattack

Lee, one of the most progressive members of Congress, has spent most of the campaign’s late stages boosting her record. She has touted her work in helping to secure $1.2 billion in federal investments for her district, which she said was due to strong relationships with the Biden administration.

Patel has sharpened her focus on attacking the incumbent, claiming that Lee is too far left and portraying herself as more of a mainstream Democrat aligned with the district’s voters.

She said Lee needs to distance herself from left-wing allies and questioned the accomplishments of her one-term tenure, alleging that Lee is merely benefiting from the work done by her predecessor, Mike Doyle, the area’s former longtime Democratic congressman who retired before Lee took over in 2022.

Patel derided Lee’s claims about securing federal funding as a “billion-dollar lie.” She called Doyle a “coalition builder and a collaborator” and said he, not Lee, deserves much of the recognition.

“I think she is taking credit for bringing back dollars to this region that she has not been fully responsible for,” Patel said.

Lee scoffed at Patel’s characterization, citing her relationships with Biden cabinet members like U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, both of whom have visited the district in recent months, accompanied by Lee.

Lee said Patel is engaging in “desperate messaging” and playing off tropes.

“That’s what they say about Black people all the time. It is the Mike Tomlin effect, that he only won a Super Bowl because of Bill Cowher,” Lee said, referring to Tomlin, the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who is Black and has been dismissed by some as a coach whose success derived from the team assembled by his white predecessor, Cowher.

‘Progressive vision’

Lee, 36, first entered the Pittsburgh political scene riding a massive blue wave.

In 2018 as Democratic turnout surged midway through Donald Trump’s tenure as president, she upset Democrat Paul Costa, a 20-year state House incumbent, and joined others like Sara Innamorato among the ranks of the state’s new, progressive insurgents.

Lee was elected to Congress in 2022, becoming the first Black woman from Pennsylvania to hold federal office.

A former member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Lee is one of the most progressive members of Congress. She is considered part of the so-called “Squad,” a group of Black and brown lawmakers that includes prominent progressives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.

She also has deep roots in political organizing, including campaigns in the Mon Valley, where she grew up, and working for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential run.

Lee recently spoke with the Tribune-Review outside of her office in East Liberty on a range of issues related to her campaign.

She pushed back on criticism from her opponent that she does not support Biden, stood firm on her calls for ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas War and criticism of the Israeli military, and exuded confidence that her local coalition of supporters will guide her to victory on April 23.

“I have a lot of reasons why I believe voters should send me back to D.C.,” Lee said, listing a range of criteria, from responsive constituent services to lifting up marginalized voices to advocating for more infrastructure and community projects.

“You can bring home the bacon, and we can still hold the line for working-class values. We can say that Black people and poor working people should not be on the chopping block. We can lead out of Western Pennsylvania on a progressive vision.”

Waiting for AIPAC

Patel, 30, has positioned herself as a more mainstream Democrat than a progressive insurgent, in hopes of ousting Lee.

Her mother is from India, and Patel touts her childhood working in her mother’s food truck in her hometown of Monroeville as a typical American success story.

She said her upbringing and campaign have been shaped by traditional Democratic values of social safety nets for working families, entrepreneurship, and support of education.

Patel worked as a community outreach manager in the administration of Rich Fitzgerald, the former Allegheny County executive. She also started a data science consulting firm called Beamdata.

If elected, she would be the first Indian-American from Pennsylvania to serve in Congress.

Throughout her political career, Patel has aligned herself more with traditional Democrats in the region, like Fitzgerald.

And part of that traditional Democratic resume is her strong support for Israel, which many mainstream Democrats, like Biden, have held for years.

She said in October that Lee’s stances were widely out of touch with the district, and criticized Lee for not meeting with the Jewish community immediately after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

“The day after the attack, the Pittsburgh region came together to mourn the ongoing tragedy and to strongly stand with our ally, Israel,” Patel said. “We deserve better.”

Reports also indicated Patel was in line for some big financial help from pro-Israel groups. In 2022, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent nearly $4 million against Lee, backing challenger Steve Irwin. But he came up just short, losing by less than 1,000 votes out of about 115,000.

It appeared that the close race had exposed some vulnerabilities for Lee.

Those weak spots are fading, however, as public sentiment swings toward Lee’s position. Nationally, Democrats were more sympathetic to Palestinians than Israelis, according to Gallup polling in February.

Momentum and money

Over the months, support has grown for a ceasefire in the Middle East, and politicians — including Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris — put more pressure on Israel.

That has only helped Lee.

She raised over $1 million in the final three months of 2023. It was her best fundraising quarter to date and dwarfed Patel’s haul. Lee credits all the attacks against her after her ceasefire calls. She said her supporters realized she had to play defense, and they responded.

Her campaign war chest is more than three times as large as Patel’s, and she has been dominating campaign ad spending over the last few months.

Jacob Rubashkin, deputy editor at national election research group Inside Elections, said Lee’s campaign has spent about $700,000 on ads for the primary. Patel, he said, has spent around $160,000.

Irwin said Patel had momentum in October after she positioned herself as an ally to Israel and met with several influential people in Pittsburgh’s Jewish community, a key Democratic voting bloc in a district that includes Pittsburgh, eastern Allegheny County suburbs, the Mon Valley and Westmoreland County communities such as Murrysville, North Huntingdon, Penn Township, Sewickley Township, Jeannette and parts of Hempfield.

Some of Patel’s momentum has now died down, said Irwin.

The pro-Israel groups haven’t spent any money on the 12th District race this year, let alone any to boost Patel.

Rubashkin said the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s campaign-spending arm has not purchased any ads in the race since sending out a mailer in October asking voters to sign onto calling for Lee to support Israel.

Mike Mikus, a veteran Democratic campaign advisor in the Pittsburgh area, said the pro-Israel group’s absence is a sign of strength for Lee.

“They will poll the district, and if they don’t think they can win, they won’t come in,” he said.

Even Patel has shifted her attacks.

During a phone interview with TribLive, she still criticized Lee’s stances, but said she supports the Biden administration’s call for a ceasefire conditioned on the release of hostages.

“I think the Biden administration should be doing everything it can to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza,” Patel said. “It is also important to recognize that Israel is a democracy and there are Israelis that are protesting [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu. I think during this time it is important to not stoke antisemitism, Islamophobia and hatred.”

The ‘Uncommitted’ effect

Patel is now criticizing Lee for not denouncing an “uncommitted” write-in campaign that is meant to protest Biden’s policies related to the war.

Patel said Lee’s failure to denounce the campaign is indicative that she doesn’t support Biden vigorously enough and could aid Trump’s effort to reclaim the presidency in November’s general election.

“When we think about the 2024 primary and general election, equivocating on Biden when you represent Western Pennsylvania is incredibly problematic,” Patel said. “Especially given that democracy is on the line, I think we need to do everything we can to focus on keeping Donald Trump out of the White House.”

Lee said that allowing voters to express themselves in the primary will increase voter turnout in November and is essential to Biden’s chances.

“We all know in general that we will work to make sure we are fighting back against Donald Trump,” Lee said on April 4 during the only televised debate between her and Patel.

In the homestretch of the race, Patel is now more focused on painting Lee as a danger to Biden’s chances at winning reelection.

She said Lee is equivocating too much on supporting the president and called on every Democrat to get behind him.

The consequences of Trump retaking the White House are too dire, Patel said, citing threats to abortion access, reproductive healthcare, LGBTQ+ rights and addressing climate change.

“Everything in what it means to be a Democrat is on the line. A lot of marginalized communities would pay the brunt if we lose,” Patel said. “It is like playing with fire.”

Fighting for endorsements

Patel has managed recently to peel off some of Lee’s support.

The 14th Ward Independent Democratic Club, which backed Lee in 2022, endorsed Patel in March. The club consists of a few hundred Democratic voters in Squirrel Hill who are consistently active in local elections.

Patel has also garnered endorsements from some influential building trades unions like the Teamsters and Steamfitters. The unions have had a contentious relationship with Lee over the years because of her criticism of natural gas drilling and its impact on the environment.

For her part, Lee has consolidated her progressive base — including Jewish advocates, environmental groups, teachers and service workers unions, and activists against gun violence. She’s also gaining support from more traditional Democrats.

Lee earned her first endorsement from the Allegheny County Democratic Committee. Democratic Party standard-bearers like U.S. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York are also backing her campaign.

In 2022, Lee won the Democratic primary by securing enough votes in progressive parts of the city, in predominantly Black neighborhoods, and her base in the Mon Valley.

Now, said Mikus, the campaign advisor, Lee has likely gained voters in suburbs where she didn’t perform as well in 2022.

He said her constituent services have been stellar, she has been present in the district, and voters are taking notice.

“From what I have heard from a lot of people, she has been out in the district, and she has remained focused on everyday issues,” Mikus said.

Lee said that voters are responding to her dedication to the job. She has a 100% voting record in the U.S. House and she said she has not missed one committee hearing.

She said it is also important to show up to everything to ensure that Democratic voices are present to counter Republicans, especially when they hold what she called “sham” hearings in the GOP-led effort to impeach Biden.

“This is about demonstrating why Democrats need to control the gavels,” Lee said. “We can’t do that if we are not showing up.”

Moderate PAC

Outside spending in the race is pitting progressive political groups backing Lee against a political action committee, Moderate PAC, largely funded by Jeffrey Yass, Pennsylvania’s richest person and a conservative billionaire.

Moderate PAC has spent more than $586,000 in the Pittsburgh area, running a series of ads online and on TV attacking Lee and boosting Patel.

The ads claim Lee has an “extreme socialist” agenda and accuses her of opposing Biden and voting against his priorities.

Yass is one of the largest contributors to Republicans in the country. His investment firm, Susquehanna International Group, holds a $22 million stake in Trump Media, according to the New York Times.

Rubashkin, of the Inside Elections research group, said that while the PAC’s attack ads are getting an anti-Lee message onto the airwaves, their message might be undercut by the source.

“If your whole thing is that you are the real Democrat in the race and attacking Lee over that, then it is not a good look if you are backed by a group that is being funded by the biggest Republican donor in the state,” said Rubashkin.

She said efforts to paint her as supporting Yass won’t stick.

“I think it is very clear that my opponent wishes she was running against a Republican, but the reality is I am a Democrat,” Patel said.

All together when combining campaign spending and outside spending, Lee still easily outpaces Patel in ad dollars.

Mikus, Rubashkin and Lew Irwin, a political science professor at Duquesne University, all agree that Lee is leading the race. They credit her ability to bring together different factions of Democratic voters over her short time in Congress.

“This looks like Summer Lee’s race to lose,” Irwin said.