In Tuesday’s primary contests, House Problem Solvers Caucus member Rep. Conor Lamb (D-PA) was swamped in his Senate primary by an ally of Bernie Sanders. Congressman Lamb has been an active and valuable member of the PSC and a longtime star of the two-party movement, putting country above party. On the Republican side, Pat McCrory, who served seven terms as mayor of North Carolina’s largest city with bipartisan support before being elected governor, was the early favorite for the open-seat Senate nomination. But Donald Trump threw his support behind little-known Rep. Ted Budd, and the deep-pocketed Club for Growth then spent millions of dollars on attack ads smearing McCrory. Budd — who skipped every debate — easily won. With your generous efforts, we fought alongside our bipartisan allies to try to help them get their message out on a tricky path to victory, but we all know that the tides generated by the extremes on both sides are powerful. Most voters care deeply about what happens in our nation and deserve a voice, but with both parties’ nominating processes dominated by the extremes, too often problem solvers come up on the short end — as do practical-minded voters seeking leaders who will work together. This is nothing less than a tragedy for our allies and this country. As Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said of Tuesday's results, “The bases are looking for something that’s more sensational, I guess — and more divisive.” We all know we need leaders who will fight for two-party solutions. Our Capitol Hill allies are working on real answers to the most pressing challenges. Problem Solvers Caucus Co-chair Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) led the successful push to get President Biden to invoke the Defense Production Act to help resolve the baby formula crisis, with bipartisan support from colleagues including Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE), Elaine Luria (D-VA), and María Elvira Salazar (R-FL). Sen. Manchin and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) are crafting energy security legislation that would include funding for climate protection, and Caucus Co-chair Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) is working on fixes for high gas prices. There are additional bipartisan efforts on COVID funding, support for law enforcement, and the world hunger crisis. It's unfortunate that we lost some of our fiercest fighters this week, but that just means we need to redouble our efforts in the months ahead. Help our grassroots outreach efforts by joining our Facebook Ambassadors group, or consider a small contribution so we can put in place the assets we need to mobilize the majority for fundamental change. | 
