Not a Time For A Vanity Vote with Denise Powell

**Al Hunt** (0:10)
Hello and welcome to Politics War Room with James Carville and I'm Al Hunt. This week, our guest is the Democratic challenger for the Second District Congressional District in Nebraska, Denise Powell. Now, remember, we love taking your questions, so write to politicswarroom at gmail.com for next week's show.
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James, we have both said throughout this year that the Left, the Democratic Socialists really are not in ascension. They're not dominating the Democratic Party. They win almost exclusively in deep blue urban areas, New York, Philadelphia, Denver, getting elite white liberal votes.
And the vast majority of Democrats in Congress and congressional candidates are moderates, or what I like to call Pelosi progressive Democrats. But, and this is a huge but, in the next two weeks, next Tuesday and a week from Tuesday, the next actually 11 or 12 days, a Democratic Socialist could win the Michigan Senate primary and the following week, the Wisconsin gubernatorial primary. If successful, I think both of these candidates, certainly El-Sayed and Michigan, are a likely loser in November. But even more important, it could create problems for other Democrats with a hyped up narrative that the left is taking over the Democratic Party. So I think these are two elections that really do pose problems for what otherwise is a good Democratic year.

**James Carville** (2:27)
I agree. And the problem with El-Sayed and the Wisconsin is, what happens in the Michigan Democratic primary doesn't stay in the Michigan Democratic primary. What happens in the Wisconsin Democratic primary for governor doesn't stay in Wisconsin.
And they're going to be tagged as part of the Democratic Party. Now, one of the things I've heard bigger, the Democratic Socialists of America run against Democrats. Why don't you get another name? Why are you dragging our names through the mud with your bullshit? And if you don't like it, call yourself something else.
By the way, the Democratic name is a great name. You know, North Korea is the Democratic Republic of North Korea, all right? Anybody can appropriate the name, but they're appropriating the name is confusing people. And if you're so against everything, then create your own name. Don't use our name.
Don't be tainted. And, but I got to tell you, I hope that voters in the primaries in Michigan and Wisconsin understand, you're not just voting for a nominee for Senate in Michigan. You're not just voting for a nominee or Governor of Wisconsin. You're voting on the image of the entire party. And there's a lot at stake here. And this is not time for a vanity vote, not at all. And that's what this is, a vanity vote and nothing more.

**Al Hunt** (4:06)
Yeah, you know, when the police, after the terrible killing in Minneapolis in 2020, boy killing, a lot of the left called for defunding the police. Most Democrats did not. Very, actually, very few did. But you know, it's a label that stuck with many because of that. And I think this is many of the labels that Al Saeed in Michigan and the woman in Wisconsin and the Congressional candidates in New York, including some of the crazy stuff they've said, you know, it's going to be... The Republicans will try to apply it to other Democrats. I'm not sure they can get away with it, but at least I think it's a danger. Now, I will criticize the establishment Democrats in Michigan in that the mainstream candidate, Haley Stevens, quite frankly, James is just not a very good candidate. And that's the one they settled on.
I always thought Mallory McMurray, who did not run a good campaign, she tended to really want to be on MSNAL than anything else.
I still thought she had the potential to be a better candidate. But you know, that's yesterday. And right now, if Democrats and Michigan understand the critical need this year is to take back the Congress, ideally the Senate, as well as the House, they're not going to vote for El-Said.

**James Carville** (5:31)
Well, first of all, I don't know what the Democratic establishment is, but the reason that Mallory couldn't run and Haley could is she was just beating her in the polls. And it became evident that...