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With many votes<\/span> still to be counted in California and little certainty in most of Tuesday\u2019s closest-watched primary elections, one early pattern is taking shape: Progressive candidates for Congress across the state are failing to top their more moderate Democratic opponents.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the race for Rep. Nancy Pelosi\u2019s seat in San Francisco, the YIMBY State Senator Scott Wiener secured a comfortable victory with more than 40% of the vote, according to the Associated Press, which made the early call. Local politician Connie Chan earned the second spot, according to the AP, leaving Saikat Chakrabarti<\/a>, a prominent figure in national progressive politics, off the general election ballot in November.<\/p>\n In Los Angeles, AIPAC-backed incumbent Rep. Jimmy Gomez easily won a spot on the November ballot, according to a call from the AP. Despite the election day revelation<\/a> of a House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against him, Gomez fended off a challenge from the progressive insurgent Angela Gonzales-Torres by a wide margin. Results are still coming in, but Gonzales-Torres appears likely to face off against Gomez again in the general election thanks to California\u2019s \u201cjungle primary\u201d<\/a> system, in which the top two candidates move on to a runoff.<\/p>\n Meanwhile in Sacramento, longtime establishment Democrat Rep. Doris Matsui is currently leading progressive city council member Mai Vang, though that race remains too close to call.\u00a0<\/p>\n In these three solidly blue districts, each race has been viewed as part of a wider battle for control between a Democratic establishment seen as faltering in the face of the second Trump administration and a progressive wing that has grown in influence in the decade since the 2016 presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. \u2014 and argues the establishment strategy gave rise to Trump in the first place.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Chakrabarti, Gonzales-Torres and Vang all had the backing of Justice Democrats, a group that supports progressive challengers in primary elections and helped elect members of the Squad in Congress. Earlier in the evening, Justice Democrats notched a victory when Dr. Adam Hamawy<\/a>, a former combat surgeon who volunteered in Gaza and faced a barrage of attacks that often peddled in Islamophobic tropes, comfortably beat a crowded field of Democrats in New Jersey.<\/p>\n Justice Democrats had hoped to elevate Chakrabarti, one of its co-founders, to Congress. After earning his fortune at the tech firm Stripe, the centimillionaire worked on Bernie Sanders\u2019s 2016 presidential campaign, co-founded Justice Democrats, and became chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.<\/p>\n Chakrabarti grew to become an influential activist in progressive politics, but he was often a divisive figure, known for riling Democrats online and antagonizing Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who he hoped to succeed. Pelosi, who won her last reelection with 82 percent of the vote in her district, ultimately endorsed Chan, a San Francisco Board of Supervisors member. When the AP called the race for Chan, she held a lead of 13% over Chakrabarti.<\/p>\n Chakrabarti, Chan and Wiener all jockeyed to be seen as the progressive in the race: All three campaigns call for Medicare for All, the overturning of Citizens United, and abolishing or defunding of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Yet differing views on Israel\u2019s genocide of Palestinians and wealth taxes on billionaires<\/a>, which Wiener and some of his richest tech-and-development-friendly backers oppose, became notable wedge issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n While Wiener and Chan have come to embrace placing conditions on offensive weapons to Israel, Chakrabarti advocated for a total arms embargo on the country. Wiener\u2019s previous support for pro-Israel bills in the state legislature and his earlier opposition to a ceasefire in Gaza drew intense scrutiny during the race, and anti-genocide and anti-Zionist protesters at times disrupted his events on the campaign trail.\u00a0<\/p>\n The weekend before the primary election, the race was jolted with final-hour reporting from Drop Site News that revealed<\/a> the pro-Israel lobby giant, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and its offshoot, Democratic Majority for Israel, DMFI, had been funneling money into a super PAC supporting Chan. Chakrabarti used the revelation to claim that AIPAC had attempted to keep him out of the general election because of his support for Palestinian human rights, suggesting a degree of collusion between Chan and AIPAC.<\/p>\n Chan, in turn, rejected Chakrabarti\u2019s claims as \u201cabsurd and laughable.\u201d She restated<\/a> her campaign pledge against accepting AIPAC donations and her advocacy for Palestinian rights.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Los Angeles, Gonzales-Torres, a community organizer, also made her opposition to the pro-Israel lobby<\/a> and Israel\u2019s genocide in Gaza a major part of her platform against Gomez. Despite the incumbent\u2019s earlier vows that he would try to rid his fundraising of corporate backers in favor of grassroots support, Gomez\u2019 previous two reelection bids have been fueled by special interest groups, such as the cryptocurrency industry and AIPAC and DMFI. <\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n AIPAC has continued to support Gomez in the current election cycle, pouring nearly $150,000 into his 2026 run, according to FEC filings. Gomez has consistently voted to send military aid to Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n The race was rocked after CNN reported<\/a> Tuesday that Gomez was under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over allegations of sexual misconduct against Gomez. The news came months after the New York Post alleged<\/a> Gomez, who is married, was spotted kissing the staffer of another member of Congress in 2023 at a party hosted by former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif. Swalwell resigned from Congress and ended a California gubernatorial campaign earlier this spring after reporters unearthed allegations of sexual assault former staffers leveled against him, which he denies.<\/p>\n Gonzales-Torres had previously called into question Gomez\u2019s close relationship to Swalwell and asked whether Gomez, who backed Swalwell\u2019s campaign for governor, had knowledge of the incidents at the time. On Tuesday, she wrote on X<\/a> that if Gomez \u201chas nothing to hide, he should have no concern. But if there was any criminal behavior that he witnessed, participated in, or helped conceal, we will find out and we will help ensure accountability and justice.\u201d<\/p>\n