Yesterday, California state Senator Kevin de León revealed his decision to challenge Senator Dianne Feinstein in 2018. While many Democrats (Berniecrats) rejoiced, others are undoubtedly quite skittish about primaries after 2016. The wounds are still fresh between a lot of Sanders and Clinton supporters, and the grievances are legitimate. However, strong primary challenges are essential to a healthy democracy. They engage previously passive voters and keep our politicians honest without drastically draining the campaign chest.
The biggest fear of wary Democrats is that poisonous primary campaigns give Republicans an advantage in the general election. In the case of the upcoming midterms, an expensive race between De Leon and Feinstein in one of America’s most expensive media markets could drain the coffers for vulnerable incumbents, such as Heidi Heitkamp, Joe Donnelly, and Claire McCaskill, who are facing tough conservative contenders, as well as potential pick up opportunities in Nevada and Arizona against the likes of Dean Heller and Jeff Flake. However, the worries are overblown.
In the 2016 election, Democrats significantly outraised the GOP by over $300 million, but an anti-establishment backlash and a weak candidate (Clinton would have been one of the wonkiest executives ever, but she was poor at running for the job) made all that extra money worthless. Furthermore, the Republican party went through arguably the most intense party infighting in the history of American politics, but still managed to win over 1,000 state and federal seats from the Democrats over the last eight years.
The truth is that the Steve Bannon and the Tea Party’s crusade against the GOP, for all their terrible ideas, managed to stir up a lot of otherwise politically passive citizens. That is what wins elections. Some critics may point at the 2012 election, in which poor Tea Party candidates like Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock lost very winnable races in Missouri and Indiana. However, that has everything to do with the crazy comments they made, and nothing to do with finances. One thing is for sure, De León is an incredibly competent candidate who has played an essential role in leading the Trump resistance in California state politics. If he makes it to the general election, no Republican candidate will have a chance in the deep blue golden state.
The fact that this primary challenge is happening in California is also very important. It is hard to find a more Democratic state. Besides stealing money away from other races across the country, many fear that primary challenges from the Left will lead to less appealing candidates during the general. I think this is a somewhat dubious claim, but that is an argument for another time. However, if the challenge is in a sold blue state, I don’t see how there is a problem. The GOP will not have a chance in many of these states. It is not as if we are running a Sanders doppelganger in West Virginia against Joe Manchin. For example, other potential primary targets may include New Jersey’s Bob Menendez and Washington’s Maria Cantwell. Of course, too many primary campaigns could drain the bank. There should be a balance, but that doesn’t mean we should immediately discourage them.
Dianne Feinstein has been in the U. S. Senate since 1992, and, with the exception of 1994, has never faced a real test. For her, every Democratic primary has been like a rubber stamp. We need real primary challenges because they ensure that incumbents truly listen to the people instead of making backroom deals with special interests. Whether or not you like your incumbent, it is important they are constantly tested because it keeps them sincere and responsive to our needs. At the end of the day, it is about increasing voter engagement and keeping politicians honest. That is what wins elections.
Lastly, this whole problem with primaries would go away if we didn’t have such a despicable campaign finance system. If we had a publicly-funded system that rewarded candidates an equal set sum if they crossed a minimum threshold of voter support, such as 5 to 10 percent, it would not only empower lesser known candidates against incumbents, but it would end the argument that primaries drain money from more important general election campaigns. Dark money and big donors are a poison to our democracy in countless ways.