Rhode Island Democratic Sen.Jack Reed fended off two progressive primary challengers Wednesday, extending a three-decade hold on his party's nomination as the 76-year-old senator seeks a sixth term in Washington.Reed defeated Connor Burbridge, a "small business owner, elder-care worker, community organizer, and a working-class Rhode Islander," according to his campaign website, and Luis Muñoz, a medical school graduate, med tech entrepreneur and former candidate who previously ran for Rhode Island governor in 2018 and 2022, according to Muñoz's LinkedIn profile and local reporting about his previous runs.The victory sends Reed to the November general election against Republican Ray McKay, who ran unopposed in his primary, and independent Michael Bahry.DEM ESTABLISHMENT STRIKES BACK AS LONGTIME INCUMBENT FENDS OFF PROGRESSIVE CHALLENGERSen.
John "Jack" Reed of Rhode Island, right, next to Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer.(Reuters)Reed's father was a World War II veteran and janitor from Cranston, Rhode Island, before eventually working his way up to becoming a custodial supervisor of the city's entire school system, according to Reed's campaign website. Reed, who cites that working-class background as pivotal to his upbringing, attended West Point later in life, and ultimately spent time in the Army before getting a Master's degree in public policy and a law degree from Harvard.DEMOCRAT ESTABLISHMENT FLEXES DOMINANCE AS INSURGENTS FALL AND GOP BENCH THINS IN DEEP BLUE STRONGHOLDSen.
Jack Reed, D-R.I., listens as U.S.Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifies at a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on March 3, 2022 in Washington, DC.
(Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images)The primary exposed a divide between a more moderate establishment candidate like Reed, and the two progressive challengers he faced who ran on things like abolishing Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), taxing wealth and ending aid to Israel.R...