Democrats get rivals in Kentucky, N.Y.

The challengers have tapped into the wounded progressive movement’s desire for transformational change suddenly animated by sweeping civilrights protests across America.

NEW YORK — Amy McGrath and Eliot Engel live hundreds of miles apart in states with dramatically different politics.

Yet they’re the preferred candidates of the Democratic Party’s establishment as voters in Kentucky and New York decide their congressional primary elections today. And both may be in trouble.

Engel, a 16-term House incumbent who represents parts of the Bronx and New York City’s wealthy suburbs, and McGrath, a former military officer and fundraising juggernaut running in her first Kentucky Senate campaign, are facing strong challenges from lower-profile black candidates. The challengers have tapped into the wounded progressive movement’s desire for transformational change suddenly animated by sweeping civil-rights protests across America.

Engel’s challenger, former public school principal Jamaal Bowman, 45, and McGrath’s opponent, state Rep. Charles Booker, 35, speak about their personal experience with police brutality and racism as they promote progressive plans to transform the nation’s health care system and economy. And both accuse their white opponents of being absent from the front lines of the civil-rights debate.

Bowman and Booker have also won the endorsement of Bernie Sanders, among a growing list of progressive leaders trying to influence the races from afar.

But the story of Bowman and Booker’s rise extends well beyond the yearslong tug-of-war between the progressive and pragmatic wings of the Democratic Party. They didn’t gain traction until after George Floyd’s death last month triggered nationwide anger over racial inequality.

In New York, the progressive pushback against Engel’s reelection was somewhat surprising given his status as one of the Democratic Party’s most liberal members. He has also drawn overwhelming support from blacks in Congress and establishment leaders such as Hillary Clinton.

He noted that he was a founding member of the House Medicare for All Caucus, an original co-sponsor of the Green New Deal and the endorsed candidate of the congressional black and Hispanic caucuses.

“I’ve always believed that black lives matter. I didn’t have to see a tragedy to know that,” said Engel, 73. “All I can do for people is say, ‘Here’s my record.’ I can’t control outside events.”

Bowman has seized on the perception that Engel has lost touch with the entirety of his diverse district, where the challenger said there’s a growing sense of unity around racial justice.

“We’re seeing protests and uprisings in communities that are white and wealthy and stereotypically don’t care about racial justice,” he said. “That’s inspiring and it’s helpful to us because everyone knows we were talking about police brutality. I was sharing my personal story, and we were going after institutional racism from the very beginning of our campaign.”

The winner of the New York House primary is expected to win the general election easily given the district’s strong Democratic tilt. Kentucky’s Senate primary will determine which Democrat runs against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who’s unpopular but a proven political force in a deep-red state.

Washington Democrats helped recruit McGrath, thinking her military history and centrist approach would play well, even in a state that backed Trump by 30 percentage points. The former Marine fighter pilot reported $19 million in the bank at the beginning of the month. Booker reported just $285,000 then, although his campaign said he raised at least $2.4 million more this month.

Booker’s recent fundraising surge coincides with the protests, although it’s unclear whether the focus on racial inequality will resonate to the same degree in a state where just 8% of residents are black.

“It is real,” Booker said of racism in his state. “I’ve had ancestors lynched in Kentucky.” Just this month, he says, he was tear-gassed by police in the Louisville district he represents while attending a peaceful rally.

McGrath’s critics say she’s been a less visible presence at protests. She’s also drawn criticism from her party’s far left wing for resisting policy proposals such as Medicare for All. And she’s not willing to call Trump a racist, even if she thinks his words and actions have been.

Still, McGrath has not shied away from questions about race, calling on white people to do more to fight systemic racism.

“We need to stand up for what’s right and talk to other white people and call it out when we see it,” she said. “Whatever the solution is, we want to be part of it.”