By: Eric Revell
A Democrat-aligned political action committee (PAC) largely funded by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman could fund primary challenges against progressive Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Cori Bush, D-Mo., who have sparked controversy with their criticism of Israel in the wake of Hamas’ terror attack.
Dmitri Mehlhorn, Hoffman’s longtime political adviser, reached out to the Mainstream Democrats PAC to gauge a potential primary challenge from more moderate candidates capable of defeating Tlaib and Bush in their deep blue districts. The news was first reported by CNBC, and Mehlhorn later confirmed his thinking to Forbes and Jewish Insider.
"One of the very, very small silver linings of this horrible moment is that it does modestly increase the likelihood that we can remove some of these members of Congress," Mehlhorn told Jewish Insider.
He told the outlet that like-minded donors have since reached out to him in support of the effort, saying that he believes there’s "a winning electoral coalition, a large governing majority of Americans who want their leaders to be able to condemn violent atrocities and mass rape."
FOX Business reached out to Mehlhorn for comment but did not receive a response prior to deadline.
Unseating Tlaib and Bush would likely require a successful primary challenge as they both represent safe and reliably Democratic districts in Michigan and Missouri, respectively.
Democratic presidential candidates received at least 60% of the popular vote in Tlaib’s district, which is centered on portions of Dearborn and Detroit, in every election dating back to 2000; while they received at least 75% of the vote in Bush’s St. Louis-area district in that time frame. Tlaib’s district has been represented by a Democrat since 1965, while Bush's has been a blue seat since 1949.
Tlaib on Tuesday became the fourth member of the House of Representatives to be censured by the chamber since 2010.
In a bipartisan vote of 234-188 with 212 Republicans and 22 Democrats voting in favor, the House formally rebuked Tlaib for "promoting false narratives regarding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and for calling for the destruction of the state of Israel."
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/linkedin-co-founders-pac-may-challenge-rashida-tlaib-cori-bush