By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO – Two Jewish members of Congress may be in a projected three-way race on Nov. 19 to serve as a leader among Democrats for House members in swing districts. The position is being vacated by Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Virginia), who plans to run in 2025 in Virginia’s gubernatorial race.
Signaling interest in the position are Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) and Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Washington). The third entry, who was the first to announce her candidacy, is Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nevada).
The victories of most San Diego County congressional incumbents could be projected on election night, Nov. 5, or by the following morning. They included Democratic Reps. Scott Peters, Sara Jacobs, and Juan Vargas, and Republican Rep. Darrell Issa.
However, Rep. Mike Levin, son of a Jewish father and Catholic mother, who won an open, previously Republican-held seat in the 2018 election, was not projected as a winner until a week later in this year’s contest against Republican challenger Scott Gunderson, owner of an Orange County car dealership. As Democrats and Republicans contested nationally for majority control of the House of Representatives, Levin’s race in northern San Diego County and southern Orange County was closely monitored by both parties.
Landsman cited his credentials winning in 2022 a Cincinnati-based district from 13-term Republican congressman Steve Chabot, and then going on to win reelection in this year’s contest against Republican Orlando Sonza. Scott Wartman of the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that Landsman’s 54% to 46% victory over Sonza was “something a Democrat in the Cincinnati region hasn’t done for decades: return to Congress for a second term.”
In his appeal for Democratic Caucus votes, Landsman said, “We need very strong Midwest voices … We won in a tough state, outran the top of the ticket, exceeded expectations and I’m good at building teams and getting things done.”
Some in the caucus may recall that Landsman on July 19 called for President Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race, which he did two days later, leading to Vice President Kamala Harris’ failed candidacy against Republican President-elect Donald J. Trump.
In his first term of Congress, Landsman joined the New Democrat Coalition, a 99-member center left coalition that is distinct and more conservative than the 97-member Congressional Progressive Caucus. The New Democrat Coalition also counts among its members San Diego congressmembers Peters, Jacobs, and Vargas.
In the battle for leadership in the battleground districts, Rep. Schrier was reported by Axios to have been “making calls to colleagues about running for the role.” She won a fourth term on Nov. 5 in a Seattle-based district over the challenge of Republican Carmen Goers. Before 2018, the 8th Congressional District seat had been customarily held by Republicans. Schrier also is a member of the New Democrat Coalition.
Rep. Susie Lee, a Roman Catholic, is also a member of the New Democrat Coalition. Prior to her first election in 2018, she served as founding director of Inner-City Games, which conducts after-school programs for children. Lee has served as a whip (vote-getter) in the New Democrat Coalition.
In announcing her candidacy for the battleground position, Lee stated: “The majority of our caucus will be intent on fighting back [against Trump] at every step of the way … we all know that he people we represent expect a more nuanced approach.”
Whoever wins will become a member of the inner circle of House Democratic leadership, which Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) is expected to continue leading as House Minority Leader.
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Senator John Thune, a South Dakota Republican who was elected by his GOP colleagues on Wednesday as Senate Majority Leader, was the victor in 2004 against incumbent Senator Tom Daschle, who then was the Senate Minority Leader. Although South Dakota is tiny in population, the leadership experience of Daschle and now Thune proves its elected leaders can pack quite a political punch.
Described by Wikipedia as an evangelical Christian, Thune is a strong supporter of Israel. Wikipedia noted that “in June 2017, Thune co-sponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (s. 720), which made it a federal crime, punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, to encourage or participate in boycotts against the Israeli government and Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.”
That bill, which was sponsored by now-retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Maryland), was defeated, but it is an indicator of what Thune’s stance will be on similar pro-Israel legislation.
The current Senate Majority leader, Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, commented Wednesday on the Senate floor: “I congratulate Senator Thune on being chosen by his colleagues as the next Republican leader. I look forward to working with him. We’ve done many bipartisan things here in the Senate together and I hope that continues. As you know I strongly believe that bipartisanship is the best and often the only way to get things done in the Senate.”
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U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin is the retiring chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Concerning the antisemitic rioting this week in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, he issued this statement:
“The brutal targeting of Jews in Amsterdam this week is a reminder of the hatred my grandparents fled from in Eastern Europe. They are shocking attacks, hauntingly reminiscent of the pogroms that once forced thousands of Jewish families to flee to safety, mine among them. We must stand against hate in all its forms, and especially when it incites and turns violent. Such violence is unacceptable and must be swiftly and unequivocally condemned by the global community.
“I welcome the Dutch government’s immediate and serious steps to increase security and protect the Jewish community, bring perpetrators to justice, and ensure Amsterdam remains a safe place for all.”
Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World