Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District features rematch between Summer Lee and James Hayes
Incumbent Democrat Summer Lee is facing a challenge from Republican James Hayes in Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District.
Lee believes that if midterm elections are a referendum on the sitting president, President Trump's economy and the issue of affordability should return her to Congress for the third time.
"Prices, affordability is the thing we hear most about," Lee told KDKA-TV in an interview. "Whether that be gas prices or groceries, housing, childcare, healthcare. Poor working people are just being left behind. So, I think that is the referendum."
Lee blames those costs on the war in Iran and tariffs and said the Republican majority has sat idly by while the president has abused his power in other areas — taking the administration to task on the Epstein files and what she calls the Justice Department's targeting of political enemies.
"In so many ways, norms have been violated that we just have not seen," Lee said. "We've heard about the unprecedented erosion of our checks and balances and presidential overreach."
A former member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Lee has gained a national profile during her two terms in Congress as a member of the "Squad," a group of young left-wing Democrats, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Lee's politics stand in sharp contrast to Hayes, her second-time challenger. He is a pro-business, free-market conservative who said Lee's focus is elsewhere.
"Maybe the radicals in Michigan, maybe the radicals in California, maybe she's representing them," Hayes said. "But I want to represent this area."
Hayes, a Shadyside businessman with postgraduate degrees from Princeton University and the University of Chicago, said he's forwarding a conservative agenda including strong support of police and things like school choice.
And he doesn't shy away from unpopular stances, calling the intervention in Iran necessary. He believes the development of refineries will bring down gas and diesel prices. He also supports the responsible development of data centers, which he said could foster a new artificial intelligence economy in southwestern Pennsylvania.
"We need to be creative and think about how we can make this thing happen in a way that everybody prospers," Hayes said.
One matter of strong contention is Lee's opposition to the war in Gaza and her condemnation of the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"She's not only anti-Israel. To me, when you look at her rhetoric, she seems to be anti-white people, which would make her a racist. And she seems to have some issue with the Jewish people in general, which would make her antisemitic," Hayes said.
Lee rejects the notion that her stance amounts to antisemitism.
"The majority of Americans have the perspective that Israel has gone way too far in Gaza," Lee said. "Whether you call it genocide or you point out war crimes or you call it tragedy, the majority of Americans take that stance."
But even if Lee loses the support of Jewish voters in Squirrel Hill and the city's 14th Ward, KDKA political analyst Jon Delano said Hayes' bid to unseat Lee is an uphill fight.
"It's a tough year for a Republican challenger against an incumbent Democrat," Delano said.
