Patriotic Millionaires To Primary Democratic Incumbents

Today, the Patriotic Millionaires announced their endorsement of nine Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives, a group that includes seven previously endorsed incumbents, and, for the first time ever, two primary challengers of current Democratic incumbents.

The organization is engaging in Congressional primaries for the very first time in its history, spurred on by the unprecedented obstruction and sabotage of President Biden's agenda by a small radical group of Democrats in the House and Senate. The Patriotic Millionaires are proud to endorse Jessica Cisneros in her bid to unseat Representative Henry Cuellar in Texas' 28th District, and Representative Lucy McBath in her race against Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux in the new post-redistricting Georgia's 7th District.

Both Representatives Cuellar and Bourdeaux have proven themselves to be beholden to the interests of their wealthy, corporate donors and therefore no longer deserve to sit in Congress, let alone "represent" the interests of working people in Texas and Georgia.

They're not alone. The Patriotic Millionaires have identified 15 Democratic members of Congress as "The Problem," a group that ranges from House Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal to Senator Kyrsten Sinema. The group plans to follow these two primary endorsements with further challenges to some of the Democrats who have spent the last year sabotaging the Biden agenda at every turn.

The seven champions that the group is re-endorsing are Representative Colin Allred (TX-32), Representative Cindy Axne (IA-3), Representative Josh Harder (CA-10), Representative Andy Kim (NJ-3), Representative Katie Porter (CA-45), Representative Deborah Ross (NC-2), and Representative Jennifer Wexton (VA-10). They have each shown themselves to be true allies to the cause of economic justice and to the interests of their constituents and working people across America.

In response to these endorsements, Erica Payne, President and founder of the Patriotic Millionaires, said,

"These radical moderates have done more damage to President Biden's agenda than Mitch McConnell and Ted Cruz combined. Their outright sabotage of President Biden's Build Back Better Agenda, likely done on behalf of their donors, left us with no choice - it's time to draw a line in the sand. It's time for the American people to expect better from Democrats, and for the party to hold its elected officials to a higher standard. Our country can't afford to have lawmakers like Henry Cuellar and Carolyn Bourdeaux making decisions anymore."

Abigail Disney, granddaughter of Roy Disney and member of the Patriotic Millionaires, said,

"Voters in Georgia's 7th district have an important choice ahead of them. I've supported both Representative McBath and Rep. Bourdeaux in the past, but only one has proven herself to be the kind of advocate her constituents need. The choice is clear - Representative McBath has been and will continue to be a champion for the kitchen-table issues that the voters of Georgia's 7th District care about, while Representative Bourdeaux's obstruction of President Biden's agenda is deeply disappointing. The people of Georgia's 7th District deserve a representative who will fight every day in Washington for their best interest, and I know Representative McBath is more than up for that challenge. I am proud to offer my wholehearted support and that of the Patriotic Millionaires to her and her campaign."

Morris Pearl, the Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires and a former managing director at BlackRock, Inc., said,

"Our country is becoming unstable, largely due to rapidly growing inequality. A small number of radical so-called moderates have stood in the way of even the most common-sense reforms because they are too beholden to a few short-sighted ultra-wealthy people. They have decided to have people who work for a living fall further and further behind to preserve the wealth of millionaires and billionaires.

It's time for Democratic donors to stand up for working people. We must stop contributing to and endorsing candidates who are actively sabotaging the President's agenda. If Democrats want to convince voters to support them, they need to show voters that being a Democrat means something. The people we are endorsing are the tireless champions of working people that the party needs more of. It's time to focus our support and resources behind candidates like them, rather than ones that will actively undermine their colleagues and the country."