Many who stayed face primary challengers. Last month, Representative Valerie Foushee, 69, narrowly fended off a competitor from the left in North Carolina, while Representative Bennie Thompson, 78, trounced his Mississippi opponent. In Colorado, Representative Diana DeGette, 68, barely qualified for the ballot in the state’s nominating process and still faces another, much younger, challenger from the left.
In Georgia, Representative David Scott, 80, dogged by questions about his health, has been out-raised in a crowded field. And Representative Al Green, 78, of Texas is in a runoff against Representative Christian Menefee, 37, after Republican redistricting effectively put them in the same seat. In a Senate Democratic primary, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, 79, is facing Representative Seth Moulton, 47.
Mr. Cohen has repeatedly held off challengers with ease in a Tennessee district that overwhelmingly backs Democrats. But Mr. Pearson’s activism has energized some voters, and his brief expulsion from the state House three years ago over a gun control protest has given him national prominence and a considerable war chest.
“The elected official that I seek to be is the one that I wanted to grow up having,” Mr. Pearson said, sipping a coffee before speaking at a “No Kings” rally on Saturday. With Mr. Trump in office, he said, “we need active leadership, not passive leadership.”
Both progressive candidates are largely aligned on the issues. Instead, the campaign centers on a deeply personal debate over effectiveness, race and respect in a majority-Black city that has struggled with poverty and crime.
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