Top Democrats played down any friction between establishment incumbents and upstart socialists seeking to gain a greater foothold in the Democratic Party.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, New York Democrat, said Democrats who are winning their primaries and likely to be incoming freshmen in January are not making demands to push votes on abolishing ICE and opening borders.
“Well, I have spoken to several of the incoming members of Congress across the ideological spectrum,” he said during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“Not a single person has raised those issues, other than obviously what they have seen from House Democrats in pushing back against an out-of-control ICE, because we believe that immigration enforcement in this country clearly should be fair, just, and humane.”
When asked about a recent reported confrontation he had with Sen. Bernard Sanders, Vermont independent who caucuses with the Democrats, about the meddling in a North Carolina primary among others, he said that he “wouldn’t describe it as a clash.”
“It was a candid conversation, along with Congressman Greg Meeks, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, with respect to one particular race in North Carolina at the beginning of the primary cycle and trying to get a sense of his approach to that race,” Mr. Jeffries said.
The top House Democrat said, “Sen. Sanders and Democrats in both the House and the Senate understand the stakes that are in front of us, particularly as we are 100 days out, and that’s making sure that we actually take back control of the Congress.”
Sen. Tim Kaine, Virginia Democrat, who appeared on “Fox News Sunday,” said the Democratic Party has historically been a “big tent” and said he opposed excluding candidates for membership in the Democratic Socialists of America.
“I do think the Democratic Party has always been known, and mostly this is good, sometimes it’s not, as a big tent,” he said. “I don’t think that somebody says, ’I’m a DSA candidate,’ I don’t think you should use that to throw them out. Why would you do that?”
He added, “Candidates have to rise and fall on their own merits.”
Republicans weren’t buying the “big tent” explanation and said the socialist agenda was typical of the whole party.
“For the next 100 days, House Democrats will spend every day trying to explain away their radical socialist record and opposition to countless commonsense policies Americans overwhelmingly support,” Mike Marinella, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement Sunday.
During the Democratic primaries this cycle for the U.S. House, local DSA chapters have endorsed 25 candidates, while its national chapter endorsed four of those 25 candidates.
Six candidates endorsed by the national DSA, a local DSA chapter or both won Democratic primaries this cycle.
About 10 of those endorsements are still pending, including challenges to such Democratic incumbents as Reps. Jared Moskowitz of Florida, Shri Thanedar of Michigan and Wesley Bell of Missouri.
Joe Gruters, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said his party is eager to “defy history” by winning the midterms despite holding the White House, aided by running against socialists who can win Democratic primaries but not general elections.
“We have the matchups and the candidates because Mamdani, AOC, and Bernie Sanders have inspired these left-wing radicals to run, and they’re winning their nominations from coast to coast. And we have our candidates who are all believers in the American Dream,” he said.
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