State Rep. Summer Lee made history this week when she became the state’s first Black woman in Congress.
Lee faced off against Plum Councilman Mike Doyle on Tuesday night in Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District, racking up 55.7% of the votes, compared with 44.3% for the Republican Doyle.
“When we were up against a wall, every single time when it looked like it was getting bleak, we had friends come from all over,” Lee said during her victory speech. “When we got into the name confusion and people started wondering what’s going on, we had friends come up. When AIPAC dropped another million in the last week just to send a message and just to try to demoralize us, our movement didn’t sit down, we stood up and we fought back.”
During the race, Republicans worked hard to paint Lee as an extremist and a socialist. Lee’s opposers did
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, via the United Democracy Project PAC, spent to oppose Lee’s campaign, criticizing her support of criminal justice reform. On top of the $2 million in ads, the group spent an additional $1 million for ads and mailings last week.
Doyle delivered his concession speech before midnight.
“We fought, we built coalitions. We brought together people who had never worked together on campaigns,” Lee told supporters at her Election Night party in Downtown Pittsburgh. “We had a multiracial, multigenerational movement from all over this district, from Westmoreland to the South Hills to the city of Pittsburgh to the Mon Valley. When we are going to make history, there are always going to be barriers that come up against us,” Lee said. “I am so proud of the work that everyone in this movement has done.”
