Edgewood's Bhavini Patel announces Democratic challenge to U.S. Rep. Summer Lee

After a roughly contested primary in 2022, Western Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District could be in for another competitive spring race.

Bhavini Patel, 29, a Democrat from Edgewood, said Monday that she plans to challenge freshman U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, in next year’s primary. Less than two years ago, Lee won a tight primary race to earn the Democratic nomination and then cruised to victory in November to win a seat that had been held by longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, who did not seek another term.

Patel grew up in Monroeville, the daughter of an immigrant mother who came to Pittsburgh from India. She said her mother taught her the value of hard work, and she credits Western Pennsylvania with providing her the backdrop to succeed.

“I believe in the power of unity and collaboration, and as the daughter of an immigrant and a single mother who grew up working in my family’s food truck, I know first-hand what hard work and grit can do,” she said.

The 12th District includes Pittsburgh, eastern Allegheny County suburbs, the Mon Valley and Westmoreland County communities such as Murrysville, North Huntingdon, Penn Township, Sewickley Township, Jeannette and parts of Hempfield. Democrats hold a more than 2-to-1 voter registration advantage over Republicans in the district.

In the 2022 primary, Lee collected 42% of the votes cast in a five-way Democratic race, edging out Steve Irwin by fewer than 1,000 votes. Patel had entered the 2022 race, but dropped out before the election.

Patel earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Oxford in England, where she was a Rotary Global Grant scholar.

She returned to the Pittsburgh area after college and has since worked as a community outreach manager in Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald’s administration. She also started a data science consulting firm called Beamdata and serves as a borough councilwoman in Edgewood.

Patel said she wants to provide a stronger focus on workforce development and ensure that people can enter the workforce without a college degree and more young people stay in Pittsburgh to raise families and grow the local population.

Patel said she was motivated to run after having hundreds of conversations with people in the district who say they would like different representation in Washington. She said she would be an ally of President Biden and work to bring more federal investment back to the Pittsburgh area.

“There is this hunger in this district for someone who is focused on uniting and not dividing,” Patel said. “I want to create a positive environment for growth, and bring more investments back to the district.”

Lee, a progressive Democrat, is the first Black woman from Pennsylvania to serve in Congress. She has attracted a bevy of liberal support from criminal justice and environmental groups, but has also stoked the ire of older, more traditional Democrats such as Fitzgerald.

Lee’s office said she has brought more than $800 million in federal funding to the district since taking office, including $150 million to support Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s University Line bus rapid transit project, a nearly $400 million loan to Eos Energy for a battery facility expansion and a $50 million grant to develop affordable housing in Pittsburgh’s Hill District.

Though Lee has garnered several challenges from moderate Democrats over the years, her 2024 reelection campaign has attracted support from influential and popular Democrats like U.S. Sens. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, and John Fetterman, D-Braddock.

The Tribune-Review obtained polling done by the Washington-based firm GQR in February that also showed 70% of likely Democratic voters in the Allegheny County section of the 12th District had a favorable opinion of Lee, while 13% had an unfavorable one.

But Patel could be poised to line up significant financial support.

The pro-Israel group AIPAC is expected to support prospective challengers to Lee. The group has a history of paying millions of dollars in attack ads against progressive politicians, particularly those like Lee who have expressed some sympathy for Palestinians.

In the last stretch of the 2022 election, AIPAC spent over $1 million in attack ads against Lee.

Patel will hold a fundraiser on Tuesday with several Pittsburghers, including Lou Weiss, a pro-Israel activist affiliated with AIPAC, according to Jewish Insider.

Patel did not answer questions about her potential association with AIPAC, adding that she has wide-ranging support from groups including small business owners, local labor unions, people in the Black community, members of the Jewish community and others.

She said she is excited to spend the next several months promoting her campaign and her personal story in the district.

“When I came back home, it was about being in the district and being in touch. I am ready to deliver action and not necessarily do things for attention,” Patel said. “I want to take that message and advocate in D.C. for the district and not just spread a national agenda.”