On Tuesday, Rachel Cohen and Ryan Grim did a fantastic piece, How Morgan Harper's Ohio Primary Challenge Explains The House Democratic Meltdown. It's an important read and I suggest it heartily. But what I want to talk about today is that race-- between Harper and incumbent Joyce Beatty in Columbus, Ohio. Let me start by mentioning that OH-03 has a nice healthy PVI of D+19. Hillary beat Trump there 67.0% to 28.6%, which predicts that whomever wins the Democratic primary is going to be the district's Representative. And last year, Franklin County-- which is almost entirely within the district (and is the only county in the district-- went for Sherrod Brown (68.7% to 31.3%) in the U.S. Senate race and in the gubernatorial race went for Democrat Richard Cordray 63.7% to 34.1%.Cohen and Grim make the point that "senior members of the CBC who have served in Congress for decades are suddenly facing challenges, or looking over their shoulders at one, disrupting the smooth, biennial tradition of effectively unopposed reelections" and that that is why the CBC has been attacking The Squad. Incumbents hate primaries, especially Democrats like Joyce Beatty who has always super-served financial special interests and continues doing just that from the perch Pelosi gave her on the House Financial Services Committee. The industries that gave given her the most money are all industries overseen by her committee: insurance companies, commercial banks, real estate, securities and investments, and finance/credit companies. AOC's first big statement when she got to Congress was the urge that Democrats outlaw that kind of corrupt behavior. Meanwhile, Beatty has taken $1,411,281 from the Finance sector since 2013-- and over $2 million in corporate PAC money over her four terms.
Beatty’s funding is part of a K Street strategy that exploits the large wealth gap persisting in many majority- or plurality-black districts-- a gap that makes it much harder for CBC members to raise from wealthy donors the kind of money needed to safely stay in Congress. That, in turn, makes corporate PAC money attractive to fill the gap. CBC members privately bristle when Democrats from wealthy districts announce pledges to forswear corporate PAC money, but still fill their coffers with max-out checks from local millionaires and billionaires in San Francisco or Seattle.By the old rules of Democratic Party politics, Beatty has done everything right. She got into Ohio politics in 1999, taking over her husband’s seat in the state House, and steadily rose through the machine, becoming the first female Democratic House leader in the state’s history. During that time, the Ohio Democratic Party largely collapsed, with the state moving from purple to red, but Beatty continued to rise, becoming a top official at Ohio State University, and by the time she’d arrived in the U.S. House, her seat appeared to be hers for life.
Morgan Harper is a 36-year-old reformer and progressive with no ties to the incompetent and fully corrupt Ohio Democratic Party. She's running on Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, Jobs Guarantee, tuition-free public college, universal child care, racial justice, affordable housing and a living wage-- all things that separate old line liberals, like Pelosi, Hoyer and their clique from today's progressives. The Ohio Democratic establishment has all but destroyed the Democratic Party in the state. Many people say it is the worst state party in America with one corrupt idiot following another, each losing more and more of the state to the Republicans. But they would much rather fight progressives-- who they routinely trash-- than Republicans.Morgan is savvy, well-educated and seems to have a large network. She did well at the CFPB and can be counted on to make up for Beatty's intense corruption in the finance area. She seems to know exactly what she is up against. Still, Beatty is well known, and the party regulars and electeds are completely united behind her. There's not a crooked Democratic pol in the state who isn't backing her, if if, during Rick Neal's campaign against Steve Stivers in the next district over, Beatty helped Stivers, making joint appearances with him, pushing "civility." Beatty has been heavily supported by the Columbus Partnership, the corporate powers that be in central Ohio, and She was the only Democrat who Victoria's Secret billionaire Les Wexner-- another character in the Jeffrey Epstein saga-- donated to since she was elected. Joyce has had fundraisers at Wexner's home. His wife Abigail also gives hugely to Beatty. Normally Abigail gives to Democrats while Les gives to Republicans. Their L Brands PAC is one of her largest donors along with Nationwide Insurance, JP Morgan Chase and other banks, American Bankers Assoc. etc.Campaigning with a former bankster, Stivers, sure didn't hurt her in the Wexner circles! At least the LGBTQ community woke up to what Beatty is from that little escapade. The rest of the Democratic coalition doesn't seem to care one bit.Beatty is probably best known for having been an ally of payday lenders-- which Morgan has fought so hard to to rein in. (Beatty's husband was a payday lenders lobbyist-- a step up from his father father who just flat out ran numbers.) While minority leader in the state legislature, Beatty held up a bill that would have regulated payday lenders. Her net worth an estimated $6 million. She has a pension from the state of Ohio of $253,323 a year plus her congressional salary.OH-03 ranks among the poorest congressional districts in the country (#378 out of 435). 60,000 children living in poverty. 54% of children living at or below 185% of poverty. 32% of children at 100% of poverty. 22% overall poverty rate, 39% at 185% of poverty.And Beatty, outside of her service to the banksters, is known primarily for symbolic measures, such as the Tubman $20 bill, or having a Rosa Parks Day in Columbus. Or instead of questioning banks on their pay structures or their presence or absence in low income neighborhoods, about their financial stability and why they still too big to fail, their cybersecurity measures or other topics-- you know, the kind of stuff Katie Porter, also on that committee, does, she served up a softball to Bank of America, whose rep came prepared to answer, on their diversity hires. All the DC financial reform activists assert that Beatty is known to be a reliable vote for the banks in committee.There have been rumors that sh isn't that interested in running for re-election, although I don't see any real signs of that and other members I ask tell me to forget it. After Morgan announced 2 weeks ago Joyce showed up at a media event for Edith Espinal, who is seeking sanctuary in a local church, trying to avoid deportation. Friends in Columbus tell me that they had never seen her say anything on that issue until then. I suppose she is starting to feel some pressure from the left, a good thing.It's also worth remembering that Beatty always used to call herself Dr. Joyce Beatty, until it was revealed her "doctorate" was an honorary degree.So Morgan is up against it. Beatty has name ID, political connections, wealthy donor connections, and a fan base that seems to care more about her wardrobe ("she threw shade on Melania by wearing the same dress!! OMG!!) and her symbolic gestures than about the substance of her work. Her voting record on the floor is mostly in step with the Democratic caucus. ProgressivePunch gives her a "C" which is a real shame for someone in a district as blue as hers.On her side, Morgan has youth, a personal story to tell, a progressive platform, a district that is getting younger, disgruntled folks on the west side who have finally noticed that Beatty ignores them, and progressives and members of the LGBTQ community unhappy with her aid and assistance to Stivers last cycle. This one is just getting started.
