The next battle for the soul of the Democratic Party

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May 15, 2023 View in browser   By Holly Otterbein Presented by Flex Association Philadelphia mayoral candidate Helen Gym speaks during a Democratic primary debate at the WPVI-TV studio on April 25. | Matt Rourke/AP Photo CRIME STORY — The Philadelphia mayoral contest on Tuesday may not be as closely watched as Chicago’s, which was billed as a showdown between a progressive and tough-on-crime moderate who were fighting in the latest front of the battle for the soul of the Democratic Party. The mayor’s race in little ol’ Philadelphia hasn’t gotten as much national media attention. But take it from someone who’s a tiny bit biased — I live in this beautiful, hilarious, maddening city — the stakes are just as high here, if not higher. For starters, it’ll be a test of the strength of the national progressive movement. Liberal leaders across the country, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, have rallied around Helen Gym for mayor. The former councilwoman is a longtime public schools activist who has called for a local “Green New Deal” and helped lead the successful campaign to take down a statue of controversial ex-Mayor Frank Rizzo. Progressives have notched a number of victories in the city in recent years, from electing proudly progressive District Attorney Larry Krasner to putting a member of the left-wing Working Families Party on city council. A win of this magnitude would make the left look dominant in this town. “Philadelphia has the opportunity to elect a movement organizer who will tackle the city’s biggest challenges, from schools to public safety, with real solutions,” said Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party. “If [Gym] wins, it will build on Brandon Johnson’s historic win in Chicago and provide more proof that people in America’s cities are hungry for candidates who will think big and invest in our communities.” The polls in the Democratic mayoral primary are close, with the latest survey showing Gym bunched up at the top with former Councilwoman Cherelle Parker, former City Controller Rebecca Rhynart and real estate developer Allan Domb. Businessman Jeff Brown is close behind. That’s another reason to keep an eye on this race: With three women in the lead, there’s a strong likelihood that Philadelphia will elect its first female mayor this year. In this deep-blue city, the champion in tomorrow’s Democratic mayoral primary is all but guaranteed to win the election in November. The outcome of the mayoral contest will also tell us something about how Democratic voters are looking to take on crime that shot up during the Covid-19 pandemic. Gym has advocated for training more detectives and speeding up the city’s 911 response. Brown was endorsed by the city’s Fraternal Order of Police union and has criticized Krasner’s progressive record. Parker, who is backed by much of the party establishment, has signaled she supports the hotly debated policing tactic known as “stop-and-frisk” as long as it is done “constitutionally.” She has also pushed for more beat police officers on the streets. “She grew up in the neighborhood. She understands crime,” said Ryan Boyer, leader of the city’s politically powerful building trades, of Parker. “Look at who she’s running against. You have all wealthy people that lived in privileged neighborhoods their whole lives that haven’t lived in high-crime areas.” One last reason that you should tune into Philly’s mayoral race? 2024. President Joe Biden will need high turnout from the city to win the battleground state of Pennsylvania. If turnout sags here like it did in the 2022 midterms, it could mean that Democrats have some work to do to shore up their base. In fact, the city’s residents will likely need a morale boost no matter what after several long years struggling with the pandemic, crime and more. “Philadelphia is facing real headwinds right now,” said state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who represents part of the city. “Whoever wins will have to find a way to unify, lead and ultimately inspire a city desperately in need of vision and inspiration.” Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight’s author at hotterbein@politico.com or on Twitter at @hollyotterbein.   A message from Flex Association: App-based work strengthens the economy. Consumers count on the convenience. It gives small businesses a big boost. And it gives millions of people a chance to earn income on their own terms. Now’s not the time to undermine the economy by tying up app-based work in red tape. Learn more here.   What'd I Miss? — Congressman’s staff allegedly injured by person with baseball bat: A person armed with a baseball bat allegedly injured two staff members in Rep. Gerry Connolly’s (D-Va.) district office, police and the congressman said today. “This morning, an individual entered my District Office armed with a baseball bat and asked for me before committing an act of violence against two members of my staff. The individual is in police custody and both members of my team were transferred to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries,” the Virginia Democrat said in a statement. — Durham report faults FBI’s Trump-Russia probe: A report from Special Counsel John Durham accuses the FBI of a double standard for aggressively probing ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign while soft-pedaling similar claims about foreigners seeking influence over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Durham’s long-awaited, 306-page report slams the FBI’s handling of the Trump-Russia probe as deeply flawed. But Durham’s investigation into the origins of that probe resulted in few criminal charges, and the release of his report is unlikely to offset his high-profile failures in court. He charged just three defendants during his four-year investigation; juries quickly acquitted two of them, while a third pleaded guilty and avoided prison time. — Supreme Court to hear racial redistricting case from South Carolina: The Supreme Court agreed today to hear a case examining whether South Carolina’s congressional map discriminates against Black voters, the latest high-profile elections law challenge the Roberts court is wading in to. The case — Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP — sees Republican lawmakers in the state challenging a lower court decision, which found that the state’s 1st Congressional District was an unlawful racial gerrymander. — Biden chooses cancer surgeon to lead NIH: Biden today chose Monica Bertagnolli, a Boston cancer surgeon, to lead the National Institutes of Health. If confirmed, Bertagnolli will replace Francis Collins, the doctor who led the NIH for a dozen years but was perhaps best known for his work studying the human genome. After Covid arrived, he found himself under withering fire from Republicans for his handling of the debate over Covid’s origins and the country’s response to the pandemic.   GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE.     Nightly Road to 2024 RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT — Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley refused to endorse a federal abortion ban Sunday, a move that mirrors statements made by other GOP nominee hopefuls, reports POLITICO’s Kelly Garrity. “I’m not going to lie to the American people. Nothing’s going to happen if we don’t get 60 votes in the Senate. We’re not even close to that on the Republican or the Democrat side.” Haley said on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” when pressed about what kind of limits on abortion she would seek if elected president. The former South Carolina governor signed a law in 2016 that banned abortions in the state after 20 weeks. Some other GOP candidates have yet to give a clear stance on a federal abortion ban. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed a bill banning abortions after six weeks, but has yet to advance a position on the federal level. Former President Donald Trump, meanwhile, told The Messenger today that “[DeSantis] signed six weeks, and many people within the pro-life movement feel that that was too harsh.” TEAM BUILDING — South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott tapped former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam as national co-chair of his imminent presidential campaign, POLITICO’s Natalie Allison reports. The move comes in preparation for the senator’s formal campaign announcement on May 22 in his hometown of North Charleston. Scott has assembled a collection of statewide and national allies ahead of his launch. South Carolina-based business leader Michael “Mikee” Johnson is set to be Scott’s national finance chair and Zac Moffatt, CEO of the Republican political firm Targeted Victory, will hold a senior campaign role. Haslam served as chair of the Republican Governors Association from 2017 to 2018 and is known to occasionally speak out against Trump. His addition to the team also provides a network of possible donors and relationships for Scott.   A message from Flex Association:   AROUND THE WORLD Supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan celebrate outside AKP (Justice and Development Party) headquarters in Istanbul, Turkey. | Khalil Hamra/AP Photo NARROW LEAD — A singing, grinning President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told supporters he was ready to fight a second round in Turkey’s election on May 28, sensing he had the momentum to beat his rival Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who undershot expectations in Sunday’s first round, write Christian Oliver and Elçin Poyrazlar. With 99 percent of ballot boxes opened, Turkey’s Supreme Election Council said today that Erdoğan had won 49.4 percent of the vote, only narrowly shy of the 50 percent needed for an outright win. Kılıçdaroğlu had secured 44.96 percent, disappointing a poll consensus that he had a narrow lead. A veteran electoral campaigner, a grandstanding Erdoğan appeared on a balcony of his AK party headquarters in Ankara in today’s early hours with a microphone singing “We love you so much” to the crowd and praising them for the “feast of democracy” they had just served up. Dismissing the opposition’s claims of foul play, he even predicted the final trickle of results from Sunday’s polls could push him over the 50 percent needed for another five-year stint in power. A visibly angry Kılıçdaroğlu, whose party accused Erdoğan’s camp of widespread electoral malpractice overnight, snapped back: “Despite all his slander and insults Erdoğan could not get the result he expected. The election cannot be won on the balcony. Data is still coming in.” “If our people say there’s a second round, we will respect that,” Kılıçdaroğlu added. “We will definitely win this election in the second round … Erdoğan didn’t win the vote of confidence he was expecting … In the next 15 days we will fight for rights, laws and justice in this country.” The prospect of a second round will focus attention on where the 5 percent who voted for Sinan Oğan — a nationalist former parliamentarian — will take their votes on May 28. He is styling himself as a potential kingmaker.   DON’T MISS POLITICO’S HEALTH CARE SUMMIT: The Covid-19 pandemic helped spur innovation in health care, from the wide adoption of telemedicine, health apps and online pharmacies to mRNA vaccines. But what will the next health care innovations look like? Join POLITICO on Wednesday June 7 for our Health Care Summit to explore how tech and innovation are transforming care and the challenges ahead for access and delivery in the United States. REGISTER NOW.     Nightly Number $225 million The amount of money that a consortium of investors — including Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital — is paying to purchase Vice Media, in addition to taking on a significant chunk of the company’s debt. According to Vice’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing today, its assets and liabilities are worth between $500 million and $1 billion. Vice was valued at $5.7 billion in 2017. RADAR SWEEP GRAD GUIDANCE — What does it mean to build an inclusive community? This was, broadly, the subject of Samuel Benson’s graduation speech at Brigham Young University, the most prominent Mormon University in the United States. Benson, who adapted his speech for Wayfare Magazine, writes about conducting a sociological study of BYU while on campus, the college’s response to the Black Lives Matter movement and how his school — along with communities around the world — can change and evolve. Read the essay here. Parting Image On this date in 2008: The California Supreme Court overturned a voter-approved ban on gay marriage. Plaintiffs in the case Stuart Gaffney (left) and his partner John Lewis (second from left) with Myra Beals (second from right) and her partner Ida Matson (right) celebrate outside the court house in San Francisco. | Tony Avelar/AP Photo Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.   A message from Flex Association: App-based work strengthens the economy. Consumers count on the convenience. It gives small businesses a big boost. And it gives millions of people a chance to earn income on their own terms. Now’s not the time to undermine the economy by tying up app-based work in red tape. Learn more here.     Follow us on Twitter Charlie Mahtesian @PoliticoCharlie Calder McHugh @calder_mchugh Katherine Long @katherinealong   Follow us

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