In one of the first forums of the primary election season, candidates for the 12th Congressional District – currently held by Rep. Summer Lee – sparred with one another over conflict in the Middle East and campaign funding while also discussing issues like gun control and climate change.
Ms. Lee is facing two challengers in the Democratic primary: Bhavini Patel, an Edgewood Borough Council member and former community outreach manager for the previous Allegheny County executive, Rich Fitzgerald; and Laurie MacDonald, the president and CEO of the Center for Victims.
Ms. Lee has been critical of Israeli policies since coming to Congress, and she has been an outlier among House Democrats since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. She was one of handful of lawmakers who voted against pro-Israel resolutions. She also has joined other progressives in calling for an immediate ceasefire. Members of the Pittsburgh Jewish community have criticized her positions.
“Obviously this is a topic that elicits deep pain in multiple communities,” she said when asked about the government’s role in navigating the complex issue. “The reality is that peace, a just and lasting peace, has to start with centering all the folks who are impacted.”
She went on to say that the U.S. should be involved in conversations about how to counter Hamas, but in a way that does not cause more harm.
“The default is to think of the U.S. in terms of strength” she said, “When in reality our biggest strength is our diplomacy. There is a threat of a growing regional war [in the Middle East] because we have not centered diplomacy.”
Ms. Patel, in addressing the October Hamas attack, said that her campaign met with multiple Jewish organizations in the Pittsburgh region and attended rallies with them. She criticized Ms. Lee for not being there.
“I wasn’t at every event because I have a job in Washington, D.C.,” Ms. Lee said. “Anybody who would use this as a political wedge is not serious and does not understand the gravity of this situation.”
Ms. MacDonald, who said her father immigrated to the U.S. from the Middle East, suggested a “coalition of peacemakers in the Middle East.”
“I think if we work together and continue with the Abraham Accords, we can find room for everybody in this world,” she said, referring to the treaties signed between Israel and several Arab nations.
Ms. Lee and Ms. Patel again went after each other near the end of the event when they were asked a hypothetical question about what law they would introduce if they were guaranteed it would pass.
Ms. Lee said she would reverse the Citizens United ruling, which removed limits on corporate spending in elections and led to an increase in spending by outside groups that do not disclose their donors..
“The insane amounts of money that will pour into our election keeps us from having a reflective democracy,” Ms. Lee said.
As part of her answer, she alluded to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, whose affiliated super PAC spent $4 million against Ms. Lee during her first run for Congress. AIPAC has disapproved of Ms. Lee’s position on Israel but has yet to endorse an opponent to her.
When asked the same question, Ms. Patel chose instead to respond to Ms. Lee’s insinuation that the super PAC was helping to fund her candidacy. The forum, held at Carnegie Mellon University, did not provide time for rebuttals.
“My campaign finance reports are going to be public just as everybody else here on this stage,” she said. “We’ve been running an honest campaign.”
Ms. Patel went on to say that “roughly 70%” of her funds came from donations from people in Pennsylvania. Year-end finance reports are due Jan. 31.
Ms. MacDonald did not address campaign financing, but said that she would use her one law to give free electric cars to everyone.
Not only did the three candidates have to contend with each other, but with a highly vocal crowd.
Ms. Lee once asked to reclaim time that she lost when the crowd started yelling over her, accusing her of lying when she said she met with “every organization that requested a meeting” following Oct. 7.
Ms. MacDonald, addressing a question about what legislative actions the candidates would take to protect the rights of the LGBTQ community, said that the people in the 12th District “have no families” and “live in squalor.”
The crowd took issue with her answer, yelling and booing until the moderators stepped in. Even when asked to not clap between candidates’ answers during the forum, the audience made it clear which answers they liked and which they disagreed with.
Hallie Lauer: hlauer@post-gazette.com
First Published: January 28, 2024, 11:06 p.m.
Updated: January 29, 2024, 3:13 p.m.