Justice Democrats Say Primary Challenges Are Back On The Menu

A top progressive group has a plan to forge a way forward after Democrats’ brutal election cycle: a renewed push to primary members of its own party.

Justice Democrats, the organization that rose to prominence for its association with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), is launching a formal candidate recruitment effort on Tuesday. After spending the 2024 cycle chiefly focused on defending members of “The Squad” who were facing challenges funded in large part by the pro-Israel AIPAC, the group is turning its attention back toward ousting incumbents who are insufficiently liberal.

"There is something wrong with this party as a whole right now," said Usamah Andrabi, a spokesperson for the group, "and it's time to clean up shop in this Democratic Party."

The 2024 election showed that the party establishment didn't learn its lessons, he said. And Democratic members coming into this Congress should be on notice: "Their primary starts now.”

“Despite our opposition, part of the appeal Donald Trump has with many voters is a willingness to challenge a status quo that isn't working for them,” he said. “Voters want to see a Democratic Party that is serious about taking on the wealthy elite and getting big money out of politics, not parade around billionaires as campaign surrogates.”

Justice Democrats aren’t yet naming any specific districts but plan to recruit in deep-blue seats that either have a Democratic incumbent or are open, not ones that are vulnerable to a GOP takeover. Likely targets include first-term Reps. George Latimer (D-N.Y.) and Wesley Bell (D-Mo.), who ousted Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush, respectively, in primaries last year with the help of tens of millions of dollars of outside money.

The group said its goal is to purge the party of members who don’t align with the working-class voters and build a more appealing Democratic Party.

“I certainly think competition is good,” said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) who primaried then-Rep Tom Lantos in 2003 when he voted for the Iraq War. “If members of Congress are going to cast votes that are detrimental to American interests, of course they should be challenged.”

The sheer avalanche of spending from pro-Israel groups left progressives in the wilderness at the close of the last primary season.

This aggressive posture from Justice Democrats underscores the broader debate over what the resistance should look like in the second Trump era. Plenty of Democrats believe that the best way forward is to remain united against Republicans. Others have leaned into ways they can work with the GOP to advance Democratic legislative goals.

A spirited focus on pruning more moderate members of the House Democratic caucus will irk many in the party.

“If the so-called Justice Democrats are serious about this effort, they should start in New York’s 8th congressional district," said Justin Chermol, a spokesperson for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, referencing the Democratic leader's home district.

Yet some of the biggest proponents of intra-party warfare have softened their stances toward it. POLITICO reported Ocasio-Cortez, who won her seat by ousting a member of Democratic leadership, has privately signaled that she may not back challengers to incumbents in the future.

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