(AFP) – The Democratic insurgent left suffered a surprise setback in Wisconsin on Wednesday but scored a major victory in neighboring Minnesota, as US primary voters delivered a mixed verdict on the movement reshaping the party ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley narrowly defeated democratic socialist Francesca Hong for the nomination for Wisconsin governor, overturning polls that had shown her comfortably ahead and giving the party establishment a badly needed victory. Hong had ridden months of grassroots momentum into election day, but Crowley benefited from mounting concerns that his far-left opponent could struggle in the closely divided state’s general election.
“From day one, this campaign has been about what comes next for Wisconsin: making life more affordable, strengthening our schools, creating good-paying jobs, and making sure opportunity reaches every corner of our state,” Crowley said in a victory statement that focused on local issues. The result showed the limits of a leftward surge that has already carried insurgent candidates to victories in New York, Colorado, and Michigan — and left the argument over how best to defeat President Donald Trump and Republicans far from settled.
But the party’s leftist wing had a much better night in Minnesota, where Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan decisively defeated moderate congresswoman Angie Craig for the Democratic nomination for US Senate. Flanagan, backed by several major figures on the left, had attacked Craig over her support for Republican immigration policies, while Craig argued that her record winning competitive House races made her the safer general-election choice. “Together, we proved that Minnesota is not for sale. When we work together, when we organize together, and when we fight together — we are unstoppable,” Flanagan posted on X. Her victory followed Abdul El-Sayed’s narrow win over an establishment-backed candidate in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary last week, adding to evidence that leftist candidates can break through beyond safely Democratic urban districts.
The stakes are higher in Senate contests, where Democrats are fighting to regain control of the chamber while defending vulnerable seats across the country. Tuesday’s ballots also brought another warning for longtime Democratic incumbents. In Connecticut, former Hartford mayor Luke Bronin, 47, ousted 78-year-old congressman John Larson, who had represented his district since 1999. The contest was driven less by a clear left-versus-center divide than by demands for generational change, with Bronin arguing that Democrats needed more urgency in confronting Trump. Larson became the seventh House Democrat to lose a primary this cycle, joining a growing list of veteran lawmakers swept aside by younger challengers.
Republicans, meanwhile, saw fresh evidence that even Trump’s endorsement has limits. In South Carolina, Senator Darline Graham — appointed after the sudden death of her brother Lindsey Graham — finished first in a crowded Republican primary but failed to secure a majority despite Trump’s backing. She will face hardline congressman Ralph Norman in an August 25 runoff for the nomination in the safely Republican seat. Trump told reporters he expected to campaign for Graham but added that he liked the other candidates as well, describing them as “all Trumpers.”
His endorsement also failed in Minnesota, where MyPillow founder and prominent election conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell lost the Republican gubernatorial primary — and refused to concede, alleging irregularities in the vote totals. Lindell, who lost by more than 45,000 votes, has a long record of raising baseless doubts over Trump’s 2020 election defeat, claiming falsely that the president’s victory was “stolen” from him by Democrats. “I’m not saying that anything’s happened but there’s numbers that don’t add up and that’s what we’re going to look at,” he told reporters.
– Frankie TAGGART
© 2024 AFP
