The Democratic Party’s internal ideological struggle is escalating from deep-blue congressional districts to statewide contests in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, where progressive victories could reshape the party and endanger must-hold seats in the November midterms. After far-left and socialist candidates defeated more moderate contenders in deep-blue districts last month, upcoming Senate primaries in Michigan and Minnesota, along with Wisconsin’s gubernatorial primary, will test whether the movement can translate those wins into statewide power.
Progressive champion Senator Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont and two-time Democratic presidential primary runner-up, touted on the campaign trail this past weekend: “Within the last year, we have won mayor's races in New York City. We've won mayor's races in Seattle. Washington, D.C. We have won congressional elections and Democratic primaries in Arizona, Ohio, Pennsylvania, California, Montana, Colorado, New Jersey and New York.” The victories by a trio of far-left congressional candidates in New York City, heavily supported by socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, were followed a week later by Democratic Socialists of America-backed challenger Melat Kiros’ defeat of 15-term Democratic Representative Diana DeGette in Colorado. These wins have emboldened progressives as they wage a far-left national pressure campaign against the Democratic Party.
The center is pushing back. Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Monday in an interview on Fox Business: “Socialism has not worked anywhere on the globe. Promises of free lunch, free buses, free bread, free everything. There’s no such thing as free. Someone always pays. This is a dream. This is nirvana. This is utopia. And they’re selling to young people who are buying it. It’s not going to work.” Cuomo resigned amid multiple scandals five years ago and failed in his political comeback last year, losing New York City’s mayoral election to Mamdani.
Democratic political analyst Van Jones, a veteran of the Obama administration, lamented in a social media post: “I'm tired of being told that, to be a progressive, I now must swear allegiance to crazy ideas. Supporting Hamas is not progressive. ‘No police, no prisons, no borders’ is not progressive. Celebrating the murder of Israeli civilians is not progressive. These ideas are REGRESSIVE.” Jamie Metzl, a technology and healthcare futurist who served in the Clinton administration, said in a Fox News Channel interview that it is time for Democrats “to stand up” to what he called “the bigots and anti-Americans in our own party.” Metzl said the DSA and other far-left groups “who are trying to take control of our party and our brand” represent “a fundamental threat to our party and our country.”
The Democratic Socialists of America celebrated the primary victories in a social media post, proclaiming: “Only socialism can solve decades of capitalist mismanagement in the US. Our newly elected leaders will fight for the working class — not for crumbs.” Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, another progressive star, parachuted into Michigan’s campaign trail this past weekend to boost Abdul El-Sayed, the far-left candidate they are supporting in a crucial Democratic Senate primary. El-Sayed, a former Wayne County Health Department director who unsuccessfully ran an insurgent campaign for governor in 2018, is facing off for the party’s nomination in the Great Lakes battleground state against Representative Haley Stevens, a more moderate lawmaker backed by longtime Senate Democratic Leader Senator Chuck Schumer and the establishment.
The winner of the August 4 Democratic primary will take on former Republican Representative Mike Rogers, who is on a glide path to the GOP nomination, in the key midterm Senate faceoff to succeed retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters. The rare open Senate seat is a top Republican target in the midterms, as well as a must-hold for the Democrats as they aim to win back the Senate majority from the GOP, which currently controls the chamber with a slim 53-47 margin. El-Sayed, who if elected would make history as the nation’s first Muslim senator, has made support for Medicare for All a major component of his campaign. The far-left candidate has also called for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is a vocal critic of Israel amid its war with Hamas, even characterizing Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” against Palestinians. El-Sayed, who served as a top surrogate on Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, has vowed not to accept PAC donations.
Schumer and the party establishment view Stevens as more electable than El-Sayed, who has sparked controversy with his past comments. They worry that El-Sayed as the party’s nominee would jeopardize the Democrat-controlled Senate seat by pushing the party too far to the left in a state that President Donald Trump carried two years ago by just over one percentage point. The primary clash is combustible and underscores the broader battle for the soul of the Democratic Party as it heads into the midterm elections.
