Making the move to the far left.
Via NBC News:
When Rep. Mike Capuano won his Boston-area congressional seat two decades ago, he had good reason to think of it like a Supreme Court appointment: For life.
The low-profile Democrat cruised to re-election nine times, never dropping below 80 percent of the vote, while casting reliably liberal votes that earned him perfect ratings from Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union.
Then Donald Trump got elected, and the liberal base began to demand more from its leaders than a party-line voting record.
Now, Capuano is facing his first-ever primary challenge — and he’s not alone, with a small but growing number of entrenched Democrats watching as insurgents out-fundraise them with a sense of urgency fueled by President Donald Trump and an unwillingness to follow the old rules of deference to party elders.
Just as the Tea Party revolution culled some deadwood Republicans on its way to retaking the House, an anti-Trump wave may wash out some of the Democrats’ longest-serving members.
“I understand that this is uncomfortable for many people,” said Ayanna Pressley, Capuano’s challenger. “These are different times and it requires our being disruptive.”
Pressley, the first woman of color elected to the Boston City Council, has been dubbed the future of politics and fêted by Emily’s List, the Democratic women’s group, with a prestigious “Rising Star” award.
Even though she’s upsetting the applecart, Pressley has won support from major unions and a tacit nod from members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, who made the unusual decision not to support their colleague and sit out the race.[…]
“Beating an incumbent of your own party is one of the hardest thing to do,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who defeated an eight-term incumbent on his second attempt two years ago.
That hasn’t stopped Adem Bunkeddeko, a 29-year-old Harvard grad and child of Ugandan refugees, who says Rep. Yvette Clarke, a Brooklyn Democrat, has done not enough to promote affordable housing in her rapidly gentrifying district. “At the end of the day, it’s about getting things done,” he said.
And nor has it stopped Jonathan Lewis, a historian and businessman in a neighboring district, who is trying to oust senior Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y. “If I told you there are nations in the world where people are running for election after election completely unopposed, you might wonder what country that is,” Lewis said.
Even Barack Obama, perhaps the greatest politician of his generation, failed to oust an entrenched Chicago lawmaker.