Congress All But Certain To Get Its First Two Black Openly Gay Members

TOPLINE

Attorney Mondaire Jones and New York City Councilman Ritchie Torres are all but certain to become the first two gay black members of Congress in November after winning their respective primaries in safely Democratic districts.

KEY FACTS

Cook Political Report’s Dave Wasserman called the primary in New York’s 17th district, which covers Westchester and Rockland counties, for Jones on Wednesday morning, when he had 45% of the vote to 21% for college admissions prosecutor Adam Schliefer and 13% for State Sen. David Carlucci.

Jones, a 32-year old attorney, originally entered the race to challenge longtime Rep. Nita Lowey, the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, who instead opted to retire, leaving him to face off with a crowded field of well-funded challengers, including prosecutor Schliefer, Carlucci, State Assemblyman David Buchwald, and former Obama Defense Department Official Evelyn Farkas.

Jones, who backs solidly progressive policies like Medicare-for-All and the Green New Deal, won endorsements from major national progressive figures like Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), as well as establishment organizations like the Congressional Black and Hispanic Caucuses.

Wasserman also called the race in New York’s 15th district in the Bronx for Ritchie Torres, an Afro-Latino City Councilman, on Wednesday morning, when he led with 31% of the vote to 19% for State Assemblyman Michael Blake and 15% for City Councilman Rev. Ruben Diaz Sr.

In the weeks leading up to the primary, which was open due to the retirement of Rep. Jose Serrano, there was some hand-wringing among Democrats about a fractured progressive field leading to a narrow win by Rev. Diaz, an anti-gay, pro-Trump Democrat.

Diaz led Torres by 2 points in a Data For Progress poll earlier this month, which had sky high approval ratings for Diaz and middling ones for Torres.

Big Number

25%. Unlike Torres, Jones was favored to win his race based on the most recent poll. A Civiqs poll last week put Jones 11 points ahead of Schliefer and Farkas.

Key Quote

“Growing up poor, black and gay, I never imagined someone like me could run for Congress, let alone being a leading contender for the nomination,” Jones said in a victory speech Tuesday night. “Had I been able to look to someone quite like myself, it would’ve been direct evidence that, in fact, things really do get better later in life.” He dedicated his win to U.S. Rep. Barbara Jordan, civil rights leader Bayard Rustin and San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk.

News Peg

Jones and Torres likely benefited from the political momentum of the George Floyd protests, but they’re not the only ones. Jones’ neighbor to the south, Jamaal Bowman, won an upset victory against longtime incumbent Eliot Engel, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. They’re joined by Cameron Webb, who will challenge Bob Good in Virginia’s 5th district and would be the only black doctor in congress. Other black candidates who could emerge victorious include State Rep. Charles Booker in Kentucky’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary and combat veteran and educator Jackie Gordon, a Democrat in New York’s 2nd district.


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