MADISON, Wis. (AP) 鈥� Progressive candidates for and are making their final pushes ahead of Tuesday’s election, increasing the pressure on a Democratic establishment that has spent the year on its heels.
The primaries come a week after narrowly defeated in Michigan鈥檚 U.S. Senate primary. El-Sayed’s victory has energized the left while among Democratic Party leaders that the shift to the left, particularly in battleground states like Michigan and , will make it more difficult to win in November.
Wisconsin’s chaotic primary pits progressive against governor’s pick
In Wisconsin, democratic socialist is trying to win a four-way Democratic primary for governor where her top opponent has been endorsed by popular Gov. Tony Evers, who isn’t seeking a third term.
Evers got behind Milwaukee County Executive on July 18, the same day Crowley reentered the race after dropping out 10 days earlier. Crowley rejoined after the candidate he backed, , ended her candidacy amid a campaign finance scandal.
Evers and Crowley were crisscrossing the state together in the last days before final ballots are cast Tuesday.
Evers and more establishment Democrats were hoping to finally coalesce around Crowley in the final days of the that saw two other candidates drop out, most notably former on July 29.
Barnes and Rodriguez, who were both seen as potential front-runners, remain on the ballot and absentee votes already cast for them .
Republicans are spending to influence the Democratic primary
Republicans are putting money behind Hong, thinking she will be the better matchup for Republican U.S. Rep. in November. The Republican Governors Association has spent nearly $3.6 million through its Right Direction Wisconsin PAC on ads contrasting Hong with President Donald Trump and playing up her liberal policies.
Crowley and other Democrats argue the ads are meant to bolster Hong’s standing in the primary because Republicans see her as the easier opponent.
Evers projected confidence at a rally that attracted hundreds of people in Hong鈥檚 hometown of Madison on Sunday night, saying Crowley was the best chance Democrats had to defeat Tiffany.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to win this thing,鈥� Evers said, telling the Crowley supporters that Tiffany would be 鈥渢he worst governor in the history of Wisconsin.鈥�
鈥淚f Tom Tiffany wins in November that will be like electing Donald Trump as governor of the state of Wisconsin,鈥� he said.
Crowley urged Democrats to come together after the primary to beat Tiffany.
鈥淥ur ultimate goal is to make sure we don鈥檛 have a MAGA extremist occupying the governor鈥檚 office,鈥� Crowley said.
Tiffany, one of the most conservative members of Congress, is endorsed by Trump.
The president called Hong a communist in remarks on Wednesday, where he mentioned a 2020 social media post by Hong calling for Thanksgiving to be canceled. Asked about the post this week, Hong reversed herself and said that Thanksgiving was her favorite holiday.
Trump won Wisconsin in 2016 and 2024, and Republicans have held majorities in both chambers of the Legislature since 2011. Holding onto the governor’s office is key to Wisconsin to gain full control of state government for the first time in 16 years.
In the race to replace Tiffany, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s son-in-law is in a five-person Republican primary. Alfonso, who is trying to represent Duffy’s old congressional district, has Trump’s endorsement.
Minnesota primary comes in wake of immigration enforcement surge
In neighboring Minnesota, voters are choosing between moderate U.S. Rep. and progressive Lt. Gov. in a Democratic U.S. Senate primary that鈥檚 playing out in the aftermath of Trump鈥檚 aggressive surge in the state.
The race has been shaped by the killing of and by in Minneapolis, confrontations that were and fueled a backlash to Trump鈥檚 immigration policies.
Both Craig and Flanagan spent the weekend traversing the Twin Cities metro area.
In a driveway in suburban Eagan on Sunday, Craig spoke to the angst among Democratic primary voters who feel that Washington isn鈥檛 working for them. Members of Congress need to stop trading stocks and becoming lobbyists when they leave office, she said, and the U.S. needs to restrict the flood of corporate campaign spending.
鈥淏ut the only way we pass any of the progressive policies that all of us here support is by winning elections and taking damn majorities,鈥� she said.
Unlike in Wisconsin, where the incumbent governor has endorsed a candidate in the race to succeed him, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has not gotten involved in the Senate primary. But his wife, Gwen Walz, has endorsed Craig and campaigned with her on Sunday.
Flanagan campaigned Saturday with U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, who helped her make the case that Washington needs a shakeup to root out the deep-pocketed forces propping up a broken status quo.
鈥淚t is big corporations, it鈥檚 special interests who are putting their thumb on the scale in our elections across the country,鈥� Flanagan said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 not just Republicans. It鈥檚 Democrats, too.鈥�
The race has been one of the most expensive Minnesota has seen, with millions of dollars backing both candidates, but disproportionately falling in Craig鈥檚 favor.
Whoever wins the primary will be the frontrunner to replace retiring Democratic Sen. in November. Minnesota voters haven鈥檛 elected a Republican to a statewide office since 2006.
Mike Lindell, the founder of MyPillow, is a top Republican candidate in the governor’s race. , and he was a prominent promoter of falsehoods about election fraud. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is in a six-person primary on the Democratic side.
Democratic struggles also on display in other states’ primaries Tuesday
Two veteran Democratic incumbents in Connecticut face challenges from the left.
Moderate Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont is but faces progressive state Rep. Josh Elliott. The Democratic nominee will face Republican state Sen. Ryan Fazio in November.
Longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. John Larson, 78, is running for a 15th term and his have been major issues in the four-person race.
Former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin narrowly won the party’s endorsement at its state convention in May. Other candidates are Hartford Board of Education member Ruth Fortune and state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest.
In Vermont, two Democrats are running in for a chance to take on Republican Gov. Phil Scott.
Former child advocacy organization CEO Aly Richards boasts endorsements from former Democratic Govs. Howard Dean and Madeleine Kunin. She faces economist Amanda Janoo.
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