By Nolan D. McCaskill
WASHINGTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Democrats are seeking to reclaim Congress, but lingering divisions from a bruising run-up to the November election threaten to imperil the party's attempt to claw back power from President Donald Trump's Republicans.
With control of both chambers at stake, Democrats have sought to move past the bad blood of the primaries, but in several competitive states, influential party figures have withheld endorsements or so far declined to campaign with nominees
for the November 3 US midterm elections.
In Maine, the governor has yet to endorse the Democratic US Senate candidate. In Texas, a congresswoman has declined to campaign alongside the state representative who defeated her in the Democratic Senate primary. In Michigan, establishment centrists are steering clear of the party's progressive Senate pick. In New York, victorious democratic socialists are criticizing congressional Democrats for joining Republicans in condemning socialism. In Florida, the party has yet to rally behind its Senate nominee.
"Whether you are a progressive or an establishment Democrat or a conservative Democrat, we all have a vested interest in getting every single person over the finish line in November," said US Representative Summer Lee, a progressive Pennsylvania Democrat up for reelection.
If Democrats fail to unify and win at least one chamber, she warned, "all of our work after that is going to be harder."
Democrats' best path to a Senate majority requires defeating Susan Collins in Maine. Collins is widely considered the most vulnerable Republican senator in the country. But former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, the Democratic nominee, is running without the endorsement of Governor Janet Mills, a onetime Senate candidate who hoped to unseat Collins herself. Mills' office did not respond to a request for comment.
"I would say they're mostly unified," Jim Melcher, a political science professor at the University of Maine at Farmington, said of Maine Democrats. "The one piece of it that stands out is that Janet Mills has not endorsed Troy Jackson."
Contacted by Reuters, the Maine Democratic Party did not directly address Mills' role but cited turnout for its nominating process and energy on the ground as evidence of unity. "Maine Democrats are united and focused on winning in November," said Devon Murphy-Anderson, the state party's executive director. "Troy has spent his career fighting for working Mainers and there is real energy behind his campaign to defeat Susan Collins."
FORMER RIVALS IN TEXAS
In Texas, US Representative Jasmine Crockett has pledged her support to state Representative James Talarico, who defeated her in the Senate primary and is taking on Republican Ken Paxton. But Crockett has repeatedly rejected Talarico's overtures for the two to campaign together, even declining to introduce him at Texas Democrats' state convention in June.
Crockett drew criticism from social media users last week for appearing on stage in Texas with R&B singer Chris Brown, but not with Talarico, who could become the first Democrat in decades to win a statewide race in Texas. In 2009, Brown pleaded guilty to assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna and has said domestic violence classes helped him learn from his mistakes.
Crockett has instead said she will focus on lower-profile races, arguing that will also benefit Talarico's Senate campaign.
"As the Democratic nominee, I trust that he has a plan," Crockett told CBS News this month. "I know that their plan wasn’t necessarily to include his opponent."
'FULL SUPPORT' TO EL-SAYED
In Michigan, lingering divisions have centered on Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive who narrowly leads Republican Mike Rogers in polling in one of the party's must-win states. Some Democrats have expressed discomfort with El-Sayed's association with controversial streamer Hasan Piker and with his rhetoric on Israel and Jews, and multiple prominent party figures have yet to endorse him.
After their closely contested Senate primary, US Representative Haley Stevens of Michigan offered her "full support" to El-Sayed, and the two hugged at a unity breakfast the following day. An El-Sayed campaign adviser told Reuters the two camps are in regular communication and that the campaign sees Stevens "as a critical member of the coalition that will beat Mike Rogers."
But it’s unclear whether Stevens will campaign with El-Sayed, and others in the party have been openly critical.
US Representative Hillary Scholten and state Senator Jeremy Moss, the Democratic nominee for a congressional seat, have not endorsed El-Sayed. Neither of their campaigns immediately responded to a request for comment.
Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution – a group that works to elect progressive candidates – said there's a double-standard when progressives win against establishment candidates.
"The establishment expects progressives to fall in line when they prevail at the ballot box, but when progressives win, there are some signs of unity, but the entire establishment doesn’t really fall in lockstep behind our candidates," he said. "I think that hurts our ability to do job No. 1, which is to beat the Republicans in November."
Others see the tensions differently.
"When you run a campaign that completely shits on the establishment and then you win that campaign ... then you turn around and say, 'I need this machine in order to win,' it is a little bit disingenuous," Democratic consultant Rodell Mollineau said.
TARGETING DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS ‘LIKE ME’
The divisions surfaced on Capitol Hill earlier this month when eight moderate Democrats joined Republicans in approving a resolution condemning socialism, drawing criticism from New York democratic socialists Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez, who are poised to win US House seats in November after defeating establishment-backed rivals in their primaries.
"This resolution was aimed squarely at democratic socialists like me," Chevalier said in a statement. "We don't need a tent that shrinks from its own history. We need a unified party that takes on corporate power, gets money out of politics and delivers for working people."
DISUNITY IN FLORIDA
In Florida, Democratic Senate nominee Angie Nixon, a democratic socialist, defeated the better-funded retired Lieutenant Colonel Alex Vindman by a double-digit margin in August.
Vindman said he would stand beside her "in the fight against" Republican Senator Ashley Moody and has donated $825,000 to help Democratic candidates, including $400,000 to the state party to support Nixon and other Florida Democrats.
But it's less clear whether the party is as supportive of Nixon as Vindman has been.
Derrick Scott, chair of Florida's Escambia County Democratic Party, said the party's "vote blue no matter who" message, shorthand for supporting Democratic candidates, appears to come with an exception now that Nixon is the nominee.
"We still have yet to see Nikki Fried, the chair of the Florida Democratic Party, come out and unequivocally and full-throatedly support Angie Nixon," he said.
A Democratic Party spokesperson said it's inaccurate to say the party hasn't rallied behind Nixon, noting Fried recently joined Nixon and another statewide candidate for a joint press conference. The spokesperson said the party is working closely with Nixon and is frequently in touch with her team.
Chanae Jackson, the Nixon campaign's former organizing director, said voters are frustrated with party leaders who underestimated Nixon and Democratic organizations too often seek Black voter turnout without building durable support for Black-led campaigns.
"They want our labor, but they don't want our leadership," she said. "They want us to work like a dog while they take credit for it."
(Reporting by Nolan D. McCaskill; Additional reporting by Bianca Flowers; Editing by Michael Learmonth, Andy Sullivan and Howard Goller)
