How a political earthquake in the South is rocking a deep-blue primary up north

Following the U.S. Supreme Court's hotly debate ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, many heavily Black congressional districts in GOP-dominated southern states are expected to disappear. And according to Politico's Lisa Kashinsky, that political shakeup in the South is rocking a Democratic congressional primary up north in deep-blue Philadelphia.

The primary will be held this Tuesday, May 19 in Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District, where Philly Democrats are competing for the nomination. Progressive Pennsylvania State Rep. Chris Rabb is being endorsed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pennsylvania), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) and others in the party's left wing, while State Sen. Sharif Street — son of former Philadelphia Mayor John Street — is receiving a lot of support from the Democratic establishment, including Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) and Philly Mayor Cherelle Parker.

Rep. Dwight Evans, who presently holds that seat, isn't seeking reelection.

According to Kashinsky, the Philly candidates and their supporters are debating how best to address gerrymandering in the Deep South.

"The upheaval has placed outsized importance on primaries that could impact Black representation in Congress," Kashinsky explains. "The Congressional Black Caucus PAC is playing a role in several of these races by backing Black candidates, throwing its support behind former Rep. Colin Allred against Rep. Julie Johnson in a high-profile Texas runoff, and endorsing first-time candidate Lauren Babb Tomlinson in a crowded field that includes independent Rep. Kevin Kiley in California's redrawn 6th District…. And it has ratcheted up the stakes late in the game in Philadelphia, where Democrats were already warring over who best meets the moment."

AOC is arguing that in the Philly primary, Rabb is best-equipped to fight MAGA gerrymandering.

Ocasio-Cortez told Politico, "This moment matters. And if you want to change the Democratic Party, we have to change the kind of Democrats that get elected to serve in Congress.”

Meanwhile, the pro-Rabb Lee told Politico, "We are facing an existential crisis. We need people who understand the urgency of right now. There are old ways of doing things, and there are bold ways of doing things. And they're not the same."

The candidates, according to Kashinsky, "offered similarly stark assessments of the potential ramifications of the recent Supreme Court ruling on Black representation and voting rights" but "offered different approaches."

Rabb is arguing that "centrist and establishment politics" will not "get us anywhere beyond where we are now."

Rabb told Politico, "The question is, what kind of Democrat are we sending to Congress amidst great dysfunction and chaos? I am the troublemaker of the three, and I believe we need a real troublemaker in troubled times. We need to shake things up."

Booker, however, believes that Street is the option in a "time of crisis."

• george conway
• noam chomsky
• civil war
• Kayleigh mcenany
• Melania trump
• drudge report
• paul krugman
• Lindsey graham
• Lincoln project
• al franken bill maher
• People of praise
• Ivanka trump
• eric trump