IRVINE, Calif. — The proxy fight between liberals and establishment Democrats flared up during a debate in southern California, days ahead of the state’s Tuesday primary.
Democrats running to take on Republican incumbent Mimi Walters in the 45th District, which stretches east from Irvine to North Tustin and Lake Forest, met for the final time this week to present their vision to voters. Through forced smiles, the candidates started the debate in a high school gymnasium cordially. But by the end, progressive Katie Porter didn’t hold back, taking jabs at the more moderate Dave Min for not heartedly backing Medicare for all.
Porter and Min are the two frontrunners in the race. Unlike other Democratic primaries in Orange County, the Democrats in the 45th don’t have to worry about California’s “jungle” primary. Walters is running unopposed on the Republican side, guaranteeing one of the four competing Democrats will make it through to the general election. In California’s primary system all candidates, no matter the party, compete in one primary and the top-two vote-getters advance.
Since the 2016 Democratic primary between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, Democrats have downplayed the swelling progressive ranks and their impact on the upcoming midterm. But the ongoing debate over the direction of the party is alive in Irvine as multiple candidates accused the party of embracing centrist Democrats.
“Now, some people may tell you this is a conservative district and the only way we can win is by nominating a moderate,” said Kia Hamadanchy, another Democrat in the race. “We don’t win by watering ourselves down, by playing it safe, or by being Republican-lite.”
Min, who is backed by a number of California Democrats and who received the endorsement of the state party, played the middle. Min warned against letting the “perfect be the enemy of the good,” presenting himself as a candidate not just for Democrats but the Republicans and independents needed to beat Walters.
Min, a UC Irvine law professor, argued for Democrats to be practical. If they win the House majority, he said, Democrats can’t reverse the entire Republican tax bill, but they can chip away at it and undo the cap on state and local tax deductions that acutely hurt states like California. On healthcare, Min said, Democrats will have to take it step by step.
Min’s goal is universal healthcare, but he’s “open to how we get there.”
“I’m open to this Medicare for all, I’m open to other approaches,” he said.
Porter jumped, saying she supports Medicare for all and nothing else.
“We don’t need ‘can’t do’ Democrats in Washington,” she said. “We got a ‘can’t do’ president and ‘can’t do’ Republicans.”
Porter, a former consumer protection advocate and protege of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, touted her progressive chops, and repeatedly hinted at the divide in the party and the need for voters to elect a Democrat who will “act like a Democrat.”
But at the end of the debate, Porter zeroed in on Min.
“Dave says, ‘Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good,’ but I say if you only aim for average, you will never achieve greatness,” Porter said to applause.
“We’re covered by a broken [healthcare] system, and I don’t think that’s good enough because but for the grace of god, Dave, go you and I, and so many of us in this room,” she added.
One day after the debate, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee piled on, throwing $20,000 into digital ads calling Min a “bad Democrat” for “opposing” Medicare for all. Min said he’s open to the proposal at the debate this week.
Whoever makes it through to the general, Democrats face an uphill battle against Walters. The two-term congresswoman won re-election by 15 points. Walter took Clinton’s victory in her district seriously and has aggressively campaigned since, maintaining a presence in the the new National Republican Congressional Committee field office opened in Irvine after the 2016 election.
Recognizing that the district still leans red, Min said after the debate, is why he thinks he’s the best suited to take on Walters.
“To say this is like Beverly Hills or Cambridge, Massachusetts is to misunderstand this district,” said Min. “This district still leans Republican, but it’s a certain type of Republican, and it’s not Trump Republicanism.”
