Democratic Party’s progressive ‘Squad’ wins big as all members projected to clinch re-election

Four progressive Democratic lawmakers known collectively as “the Squad” are each projected to win their House races, handily defeating their Republican and Independent challengers on their path to another term.

Reps Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York), Ayanna Pressley (Massachusetts), Ilhan Omar (Minnesota) and Rashida Tlaib (Michigan) are all set to win their Congressional races on Tuesday night, according to projections from the Associated Press and other outlets. All are on track to victory by significant margins, the forecasts show, prompting fellow party members to send messages of congratulations.

With 54 percent of the vote tallied in Michigan’s 13th congressional district, Tlaib is leading Republican challenger David Dudenhoefer by some 40 points, while Omar won by a similar amount in Minnesota’s 5th district, coming away with 64 percent of the vote over the GOP’s Lacy Johnson, who earned just shy of 26 percent.

In a massive landslide, Pressley scored 87 points over Independent Roy Owens’ 12 percent. After a brief legal battle, Republican candidate Rayla Campbell failed to secure a place on the ballot, relegating her to write-ins only.

Meanwhile in New York, Ocasio-Cortez – known better by her initials, “AOC” – easily sailed to re-election, taking 68 percent of the vote and triumphing over Republican John Cummings. The progressive rep became the youngest member of Congress after vanquishing Anthony Pappas in 2018 and has since attained high-profile as a party upstart.

The Squad’s overwhelming success in the House on Tuesday night comes amid a narrow general election. Though projections give Democrat Joe Biden an edge in potential electoral votes, large numbers of delegates remain up for grabs in Texas and Florida, which are strongly leaning in Trump’s favor but have only been called by Fox News. Other outlets have deemed Florida too close to call and have not yet offered a verdict for Texas.

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