Incumbent Summer Lee (D) won the Democratic primary election for Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District on April 23, 2024. Lee received 60.6% of the vote. Bhavini Patel (D) finished in second with 39.4%.
Lee was first elected to the U.S. House in 2022 and previously served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Lee said she was a progressive and campaigned on her legislative record. Her priorities included education, voting accessibility, raising the minimum wage, and the environment. When announcing her intention to run for re-election, Lee said, “My voting patterns, everything that I do, the resources I fight for, are for working class people. They’re for Black and brown people … They’re for everybody in this region.”
Patel was, at the time of the election, a member of the Edgewood Borough Council and a former small business owner. Patel campaigned on her support for President Joe Biden (D), whom she said Lee did not support. Patel’s priorities included public safety, passing gun legislation, increasing the amount of union jobs, and increasing access to abortion. When launching her campaign, Patel said, “I think that people are looking for change. They want somebody who is focused on delivering on the issues that we need here, and they want somebody who’s going to take this region’s message to D.C. and not focus on a national agenda.”
The New York Times’ Jonathan Wiesman said candidates’ views on the Israel-Hamas war were a central dynamic of the race. In October 2023, Lee co-sponsored a resolution calling for a cease-fire to the war, saying, “We stand here to say that we will fight against any more pain that will come.” At a candidate forum, Patel mentioned Lee’s social media posts on the conflict, saying, “To me, that’s stoking hatred. That’s stoking antisemitism.” Patel also said she attended rallies in support of Israel following the start of the conflict. Lee said the conflict “elicits deep pain in multiple communities … The reality is that peace—a just and lasting peace—has to start with centering all of the folks who are impacted.”
As of April 3, 2024, Lee raised the most money in the primary, taking in $2.3 million since the start of the campaign cycle. She raised $919,565 in quarter one. Patel raised the next most in the primary, with $602,122 since the start of the campaign and $290,812 in quarter one.
Lee will face James Hayes (R) in the November 5 general election.
