Historically, the United States House of Representatives has been a stepping stone to higher offices for ambitious politicians. But in this year’s Democratic primary, amid widespread anti-establishment backlash, it hasn’t offered much traction. Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig is just the latest House member to stumble in her bid for promotion, losing the U.S. Senate Democratic primary to Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. Earlier this month, Rep. Haley Stevens also lost a Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, falling to progressive rival Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official, in a race that featured many of the same ideological divisions on display in Minnesota. Meanwhile, in the Democratic US Senate primary held in Illinois in March, a pair of US Representatives, Robin Kelly and Raja Krishnamoorthi, fell to Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton. Earlier that month in Texas, Rep. Jasmine Crockett was defeated by state Rep. James Talarico in the race for the Democratic nomination for that state’s Senate. Some House members still have a chance to continue moving up the ladder: Rep. Chris Pappas in New Hampshire is the favorite to capture the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in his state; Rep. Seth Moulton will try the case against Sen. Ed Markey in Massachusetts; and former Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola is seeking to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska. But after years in the minority, Democratic members of the House of Representatives have found little to take away from their time in Washington.
