SUMMER LEE CELEBRATES AFTER WINNING THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION FOR THE 12TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT IN PA., APRIL 23. (PHOTO BY ROB TAYLOR JR.)
‘We’re not new to this…we are true to this.’
– Congresswoman Summer Lee
In the words of former Pittsburgh Pirates broadcaster Lanny Frattare, “There was noooo doubt about it.”
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, 36, took the swings from Democratic challenger Bhavini Patel and the countless people who think the Congresswoman is too progressive, but in the end, those people struck out, and Congresswoman Lee hit another home run.
The Associated Press called the highly-watched congressional race for the state’s 12th District just before 9:30 p.m. on April 23, only 90 minutes after the polls in Pennsylvania closed. Congresswoman Lee was up to 59 percent of the vote in her favor when the AP made the call, ending any speculation as to if Patel, the 30-year-old Edgewood Borough Councilwoman, would upset Rep. Lee and take the Democratic nomination.
“Our movement is stronger than every GOP billionaire that exists,” Rep. Lee said at her Election Night Watch Party at the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel, Downtown. “Our movement is stronger than any…opportunist, it’s stronger than everybody who wants to say that the power of the people is not stronger than the people in power. But we know how to do this in Western Pennsylvania; we’re not new to this, we are true to this.”
SUMMER LEE’S FAMILY INCLUDING GRANDMOTHER MARCELLA LEE-WILSON (RIGHT) CELEBRATES…
“Do they believe now?” Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey asked the crowd. “It’s amazing when you put people first, it’s amazing when you want to see people have a better quality of life, it’s amazing when you want affordable housing so people can have a right to live,” the mayor said about Congresswoman Lee. “It’s amazing when you have someone who didn’t miss one day of work.”
Mayor Gainey said for him, it’s not a political speech. Those were just some of the reasons that he “believes in Summer Lee,” as he repeated throughout his remarks.
“The reality is, there were a lot of people who wanted to convince us that we could not be pro-peace and win in this district,” Rep. Lee said to a thunderous applause. She was referring to her own stance to have a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but was largely criticized for that stance. And with Squirrel Hill having a large Jewish community within District 12, some thought her stance would cause her to lose the election.
“They want a democracy to be reflective and they want Black people and brown folks and they want poor and they want working-class people to go to Congress, but when we get there, they want us to put our head down, and they want us to be silent and they want us to do things the same way that it’s always been done.”
The Congresswoman said that’s not how she works. She said she fights for her people, no matter what.
“Here in Western Pennsylvania, we are showing what it looks like to lead with compassion,” Rep. Lee said. “We’re showing what it looks like to show up for the least of these.”
SUMMER LEE RECOGNIZES HER MOTHER SHELDA, WHO IS CELEBRATED BY THE CROWD…
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