Pro-Palestinian Democrat challenges longtime Seattle Congressman Adam Smith

A pro-Palestinian Democrat appears to be headed to the general election ballot in November, challenging a longtime incumbent Democrat Congressman.

Melissa Chaudhry is a young Muslim candidate running for Congress in Washington’s 9th Congressional District, which stretches from Bellevue and South Seattle down to Federal Way. It’s one of the most diverse Congressional districts in the country – 15% Hispanic or Latino, 24% Asian, 12% Black, and 7.5% multiracial.

Chaudhry, a nonprofit grant writer, told KUOW that her spot in the top two candidates out of last week’s primary demonstrates the staying power of the Gaza ceasefire movement.

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“This is not an issue that people will be forgetting anytime soon,” Chaudhry said. “The grief and the rage has to subside for the sake of daily life, but no one has forgotten.”

As of Monday, she had about 20% of the primary vote – enough to pull ahead of two Republicans who split the conservative vote.

But now, she faces an uphill battle against Democratic U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, who’s been in that seat 27 years and is ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee. He had 54% of the vote as of Monday.

Smith has often criticized pro-Palestinian protesters, and his Bellevue home was vandalized with graffiti calling for a ceasefire in December. In April, after protesters occupied his office in Renton and disrupted a town hall event, he called for arrests of “left-wing fascists.”

“The primary opponent who emerged has a message that only goes to the far-left of our constituency, and doesn't really have appeal beyond that,” Smith told KUOW. “The issues that I hear about at the door, number one, is housing. You know, the lack of access to affordable housing, and then people are concerned about crime, drug abuse, homelessness, lack of access to mental health services — all things that I have worked on and delivered for my district.”

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Smith pointed to winning 12 weeks of paid parental leave for all federal employees in 2019 as one of his accomplishments.

Smith has faced challenges from the left before, like in 2018 when the Democratic Socialists of America ran a candidate against him. He won in a landslide then, with more than double the votes his socialist challenger got.

Chaudhry thinks her connection to immigrant communities, which make up a big chunk of the district, will help her compete with Smith this year. Chaudhry’s husband is an immigrant, and her grandfather survived a Nazi concentration camp, Chaudhry said.

“I am a grassroots candidate who is not funded by corporate special interests – that appeals to a lot of independents and folks who generally abstain from voting because they don't think their vote makes a difference,” Chaudhry said.

Smith has a massive cash advantage, with more than $1.2 million raised to Chaudhry’s $66,000 as of mid-July. He’s also looking less vulnerable than in 2018.

Chaudhry has pointed out that Smith’s major donors are the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee and defense contractors such as General Atomics.

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Smith said he does the right thing, regardless of where political pressure comes from – like when he became one of the first influential members of his party to call for President Joe Biden to end his reelection bid.

“I have never been shy about taking positions or voting against the interests of people who donate to me,” Smith said. “AIPAC does donate to me. I support the Iran nuclear deal. I opposed getting out of it. I support continuing to fund UNRWA [the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees] – opposed cutting them off. These are all positions that AIPAC doesn't like and doesn't support.”