Defending & Expanding Our Senate Majority, Part 2

Yesterday, we highlighted four critical Senate races to watch this November in Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, and New Hampshire. Today, we have four more equally important races that will determine control of the Senate in the midterms in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Ohio.

Taking back the Senate in January 2021 was pivotal to so many of President Biden and Democrats’ achievements, including passing the American Rescue Plan and recovering from the pandemic, passing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, ensuring historic job creation, reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, and confirming Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Our work getting out the Jewish vote in the midterms is key to continuing this progress and ensuring Democrats continue to deliver for the American people.

Republican obstruction of legislation advancing gun safety, protecting democracy and voting rights, combating extremism, and defending abortion rights mean that 50 Democratic Senators are simply not enough. We must expand our majority this November to reform or repeal the filibuster and end the GOP block on progress. Keep reading for a highlight of the remaining four Senate races to watch.

FORMER CHIEF JUSTICE CHERI BEASLEY (NC) FOR SENATOR
Former Chief Justice Cheri Beasley served as a North Carolina Supreme Court Justice from 2012 to 2020. It is critical that we elect a Democratic Senator to North Carolina who shares our values and will expand our Senate majority. Justice Beasley strongly supports Israel’s security and the two-state solution and is deeply committed to fighting white supremacy and extremism. 

Rep. Tedd Budd won the GOP primary on the heels of endorsements from a litany of extremist Republicans, including Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marsha Blackburn, and Jim Jordan. Budd voted to block the certification of the 2020 election and provided fodder for the deadly January 6 insurrection on the Capitol. Friends don’t let friends support insurrectionists, and we won’t let our friends in North Carolina elect one to the Senate.

PA LT. GOVERNOR JOHN FETTERMAN FOR SENATOR
Pennsylvania’s Lt. Governor John Fetterman strongly represents our Jewish and Democratic values. He champions progressive priorities including worker and union rights and criminal justice reform. During JDCA’s candidate forum for the PA Senate primary, Fetterman underscored the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship, emphasizing his strong opposition to the BDS and his support for U.S. aid to Israel. Winning this race will play a critical role in Democrats maintaining and expanding control of the Senate, and the Jewish vote will make a critical difference in PA.

The GOP nomination in Pennsylvania is still up in the air due to an ongoing recount. The two leading candidates, Dave McCormick and Mehmet Oz, are both far-right and deeply dangerous candidates. McCormick has endorsed a ‘Trump-lite’ style of politics, earning himself the endorsements of Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Kellyanne Conway, and Mike Pompeo, and has run ads featuring the vulgar code “Let’s Go Brandon” playing in the background. Oz is the Trump-endorsed candidate and has fully embraced the most dangerous spheres of Trumpism. Despite spending much of his adult life openly pro-choice, Oz has done a 180 and bowed to the Republican talking points on abortion. McCormick and Oz are both threats to our democracy and need to be kept far away from political office.

REP. VAL DEMINGS (FL) FOR SENATOR
Rep. Val Demings is the presumptive Democratic nominee for Senate in Florida and will face Marco Rubio in the general election. She is a leading voice in the fight for gun safety reforms, combating extremism, and defending democracy, and has been a committed friend to Jewish Americans and Israel. 

There is not much more that needs to be said about Marco Rubio. Despite initially posturing himself as a moderate and “new” Republican, Rubio has placed himself firmly in the Trump wing of the party and supported each of the cruel policies of his party. It is long past time for Rubio to retire to a nice timeshare in Florida.

REP. TIM RYAN (OH) FOR SENATOR
Rep. Tim Ryan is a strong ally of the Ohio Jewish community and an advocate for our values in the House. He is running for Senator against JD Vance, a Trump-endorsed extremist, and we will do everything we can to send Tim Ryan to the Senate. 

Author J.D. Vance won the GOP nomination earlier this month and will face Rep. Ryan in November. Vance, despite spending much of his life as a centrist liberal and even an early critic of Donald Trump, has gone Ultra-MAGA. He has openly stated that he is for a total abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest and promotes the racist “Replacement Theory.” Vance has the support of Tucker Carlson and a litany of extremist Republicans. Let’s keep J.D. Vance out of the U.S. Senate.