Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) on Sunday dismissed Republican warnings about the rise of socialist candidates within the Democratic Party as “political noise,” arguing that voters are more focused on tangible policy concerns than ideological labels.
“That is a lot of political noise, and I think you’ll find that when we talk to everyday people, they are not as deeply into some of these political fear [and] divisive tactics,” Lee said on MSNBC’s “Connect” while campaigning in Michigan for progressive Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed.
Lee, a former member of the Democratic Socialists of America, stressed that Americans want government action on issues like prescription drug prices, housing affordability, education, and the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs. “People at the end of the day … they want to know that their government cares about them,” she added.
Her comments come as several progressive and democratic socialist candidates have notched primary victories this summer, including Darializa Avila Chevalier and Brad Lander in New York City and Melat Kiros in Colorado, all of whom unseated multi-term incumbents. Lander, while not self-identifying as a democratic socialist, is a former DSA member.
Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), have seized on those wins to claim “communists” are infiltrating the Democratic Party, warning that far-left candidates “are a danger to you and your family.” Lee dismissed such rhetoric as out of touch with voters’ priorities.
The Michigan primary, set for Tuesday, has become a flashpoint in the intraparty struggle between centrists and progressives. El-Sayed, former director of the Wayne County Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services, faces moderate Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), with the winner likely to take on former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers in November. Lee joined a host of progressive lawmakers, including Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), in backing El-Sayed.
During the interview, Lee also criticized the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) for spending millions to support Stevens. “They’re spending it, and they’re spending it under their own name because they want the attention,” she said. “And what they’re doing is wrong. In my district and so many others, they oftentimes distort, they spread disinformation and they have very little care about the people who actually should get to choose their representative.”
The race underscores broader Democratic fault lines ahead of November, with progressives hoping to expand their influence while centrists warn about electability. Lee’s dismissal of socialist attacks aligns with Bernie Sanders’ recent pitch for El-Sayed’s cross-party appeal, though some analysts suggest a progressive win could imperil Democratic Senate hopes in a swing state.
