Ayanna Pressley’s Mass. Win Marks Another Victory For Progressive Black Candidates
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Ayanna Pressley won big in Massachusetts Tuesday as another progressive African-American candidate knocked off the establishment in a summer that appears to be spearheading a big change in the Democratic Party, according to CNN.
Presley, 44, a Boston city councilor, upset veteran incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Capuano, 66, for his Congressional seat in the Democratic Primary, mirroring Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ouster the No. 4-ranking House Democrat, Rep. Joe Crowley of New York, in a primary earlier this summer, the network wrote.
“This is a fight for the soul of our party,” Pressley said earlier, according to CNN. “This is a fight for the future of our democracy. We might vote the same way, but we will lead differently. These times require and this district deserves bold, activist leadership.”
Ocasio-Cortez congratulated Pressley on Twitter after the win.
Congratulations to my sister in service, @AyannaPressley, on continuing her historic path into Congress tonight.
Let’s push together to make Medicare for All, tuition free college, & living wages a reality in America – all without corporate PAC money. ?? https://t.co/o2SbtUkByS
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 5, 2018
This photo was taken months ago.
.@AyannaPressley + I bonded over running while constantly told it’s “not our turn,” that we “weren’t ready,” “good enough,” or “experienced” enough.
We kept going anyway.
In June, I won my primary. Tonight, she won hers.
Here’s to November.? pic.twitter.com/4Xf8AnTMUQ
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 5, 2018
While many agreed this race did not have the moderate vs. liberal bent of the Oscasio-Cortez win, there were a similar messaging, noted the website FiveThirtyEight.com.
“Maybe voters agreed with Pressley’s argument that Congress needs politicians with different ‘lived experiences‘ — in her case, surviving sexual assault or being raised by a single mother,” the website wrote. “Maybe identity politics did play a role, just in an unexpected way. Maybe it was ‘woke’ white voters who preferred to see an African-American represent a majority-minority district and voted accordingly.
“Maybe voters agreed with the assertion that top House Democrats should yield to the next generation of leaders and, unable to vote Nancy Pelosi out of office directly, opted for Pressley (age 44) over Capuano (66). Maybe Pressley’s gender was actually the No. 1 factor; there is clear evidence that women have outperformed men in Democratic primaries this year,” the website continued.
Matt Yglesias, of the website Vox, wrote eariler that women, particularly college-educated women, have been  at the forefront of the political backlash against President Donald Trump since the Women’s March on Washington.
Trump since has inspired a record number of women to run for Congress and win Democratic Party nominations, Yglesias wrote. He said that in 41 state primaries so far, 41 percent of all Democratic Party nominees, and 48 percent of all non-incumbent nominees, are women, easily breaking old records.
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