Hakeem Jeffries, the guy who is supposedly leading Democrats back to the promised land of a House majority, just watched his personally endorsed candidate get absolutely steamrolled in a Michigan primary by a card carrying socialist. That is what we in the business call "not ideal."
As USA Journal reported, Jeffries threw his weight behind Rep. Shri Thanedar, the two term incumbent from Michigan's 13th Congressional District who built his entire political brand around screaming for the impeachment of Trump administration officials. Turns out that screaming really loud about one thing eventually makes people wonder if you can do anything else. Spoiler alert: the voters decided he could not.
Donavan McKinney, a lifelong Detroit resident, proud socialist, and Metro Detroit Democratic Socialists of America member, beat Thanedar 51.9% to 48.1% on Tuesday. That is not a squeaker that you can blame on turnout or weather. That is a full blown rejection of the establishment pick, complete with DSA backing and even Hasan Piker streaming support for McKinney on Twitch. Imagine being Hakeem Jeffries and realizing your endorsement carries less weight than a guy playing video games on the internet.
Now, the strategic headache for Jeffries is real. Michigan's 13th is a safely blue district, so McKinney will almost certainly cruise into Congress. The immediate policy damage is limited since his most ambitious socialist proposals would likely go nowhere in the Senate. But the pattern here is the actual problem. Every time a DSA backed challenger knocks off a Jeffries endorsed incumbent, it sends an engraved invitation to the next socialist challenger saying "come on in, the water's fine."
Jeffries is the man who supposedly will grab the speaker's gavel if Democrats flip the House. He is the one tasked with keeping the growing socialist faction in check and building something that functions like a governing majority. Tuesday's results suggest that his ability to do either of those things is, shall we say, questionable at best.
The comparison to Nancy Pelosi is brutal but unavoidable. Pelosi ran her caucus with fear, iron discipline, and a genuine willingness to make life miserable for anyone who got out of line. Jeffries, by contrast, has gone the polite and conciliatory route. He has been accommodating. And the DSA has responded to that accommodation by happily swiping his seats right out from under him.
Every socialist who wins a safe Democratic district becomes one more vote Jeffries has to manage when trying to pass anything that does not perfectly align with the DSA agenda. That is a math problem that only gets worse with each primary cycle.
The Democratic establishment keeps bringing strongly worded press releases to what is clearly a knife fight, and Tuesday in Michigan confirmed that the other side brought actual knives. Good luck with that speaker's gavel, Hakeem.
Read more conservative news commentary at: USA Journal News
