How Left is too Left? Voters might begin giving answers Tuesday night as the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) continues running wild in Democratic Party primaries across the nation.
Voters go to the polls in Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Carolina, Connecticut, Alabama and Vermont. But the marquee races are in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and South Carolina.
In South Carolina, primary voters, who selected Lindsey Graham over challenger Mark Lynch earlier this summer, will return to the polls in a special election to choose a new nominee after Graham’s death.
Trump has endorsed newly minted Sen. Darline Graham Nordone, Lindsey Graham’s sister, who was appointed by Trump’s ally Gov. Henry McMaster after lobbying from Trump despite her scant political record.
Polls show Nordone and Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) likely leaders with Rep. Russell Fry and even scandal-plagued former governor and representative Mark Sanford potential runoff candidates.
If no candidate receives over 50 percent, a runoff will take place August 25.
The Minnesota Democrat primary for Senate showcases a battle between traditional Democrats and the ascendant Left that increasingly calls the shots.
The race also demonstrates how far, and how fast, the Democratic Party has rushed to the Left.
Rep. Angie Craig has consistently polled behind the frontrunner, progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.
The local DSA has not formally gotten involved in the race, as the leftwing Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) carries the flame of the Left in Minnesota. But Flanagan has clearly aligned herself with the DSA wing of the Democratic Party.
Craig is supported by the Chuck Schumer establishment wing of the party, although Schumer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have avoided getting formally involved and giving the kiss of death to Craig in the primary in which Washington Democrats have been under attack, along with Schumer’s continued leadership.
Yet while Craig began the race touting her pragmatism and ability to work across the aisle, she has quickly abandoned that tack. She has even apologized for voting for the Laken Riley Act just a year and a half ago, a law requiring the Department of Homeland Security to detain illegal aliens committing certain crimes.
But the race that has gotten the most attention is in the Badger State, where Francesca Hong has consistently outpolled her competitors in the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary.
The DSA official Hong is in lockstep with the most radical positions of the party, but the national DSA and its most high profile adherents have not backed her candidacy.
While Hong’s positions are in alignment, she has struggled to display much depth of thought or ability to handle tough questions on the trail, leading Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and other popular socialist candidates to refrain from endorsing her.
Hong is even expected to complete a staff shakeup after the primary in a nod to others that her campaign needs a jumpstart (or in an attempt to make scapegoats of staff).
The first polls to close are in South Carolina at 7 p.m. ET, with Alabama, Vermont, and Connecticut next at 8 p.m. ET.
This story will be updated.
UPDATE 6:50 p.m. ET:
David Crowley will defeat Francesca Hong, an absolutely huge upset, the AP projected at 3:34 a.m. ET. At latest count, Crowley holds 39.78 percent of the vote to Hong’s 39.37 percent, a difference of 3,211 vote with 787,678 reported.
There is much to dissect from this race. Polls showed Hong running away with this race, despite spending little money, and most of that on digital efforts, not television ads. Crowley, who was not given a shot,
Mandela Barnes, a fellow progressive, dropped out on July 30 after early voting began due to personal scandals and also the fact that Hong was so far ahead in polling. The bulk of his 32,000+ vote almost certainly would have gone to Hong, putting her over the top.
National progressives like AOC and Bernie Sanders will be praised in some corners for not backing Hong, who is now a loser. Yet others will castigate them for withholding support, which likely would have put her over the top.
Crowley’s win is almost certainly a disappointment for Tom Tiffany, who had hoped to face the radical Hong in November.
UPDATE 11:34 p.m. ET:
Lisa Demuth wins the Republican nomination for governor in Minnesota, the AP projects. Demuth defeats Mike Lindell, the MyPillow CEO.
Trump posted on Truth Social Tuesday morning encouraging voters to vote for Lindell, but his brief message fell far short of his full and total endorsement, lacking the trademark enthusiasm with which he employs when endorsing candidates.
UPDATE 11:31 p.m. ET:
Flanagan wins in Minnesota, the AP projects. This is a big loss for the establishment wing of the Democratic Party and another potential vote against Schumer for Democratic Leader.
UPDATE 11:27 p.m. ET:
Let’s recap the big three races of the evening.
In South Carolina, Sen. Darline Graham Nordone and Rep. Ralph Norman will go to the runoff for the Republican nomination for Senate. Despite Trump’s endorsement, Nordone only got about a third of the vote.
In Minnesota, the progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan has a commanding lead over Rep. Angie Craig in the Democratic Senatorial primary. Some outlets have already called this race, and others are likely to follow soon.
In Wisconsin, Francesca Hong, despite being projected to win by double digits, is trading the lead with David Crowley in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. Rep Tom Tiffany won the Republican nomination and definitely wants to face the DSA candidate Hong.
UPDATE 11:24 p.m. ET:
For the first time tonight, Hong is in the lead. She has overtaken Crowley by a mere several hundred votes. Over 83 percent of the vote is in. This one might not get called tonight.
UPDATE 10:28 p.m. ET:
Hong is hanging on by a thread.
Seventy percent of the votes are in and she is down a minuscule 600 votes to Crowley.
This would be one of the biggest upsets of the cycle and send shockwaves through a polling industry that has vastly overprotected the success progressive, DSA candidates would have when votes were actually counted. Already, there will be a reckoning, but with primaries almost over and general elections around the corner, polling in November races, particularly but not exclusively in races with DSA candidates on the ballot, could be much less trustworthy, which could effect how campaigns are run and covered.
UPDATE 9:56 p.m. ET:
On the other side of the aisle in Minnesota. progressive Peggy Flanagan is ahead of Rep. Angie Craig in the Democratic Senate primary. With only 12 percent in, Flanagan is at 51.9 percent to Craig’s 44.2.
This is one of the bellwether races of the night which could show how much sway the progressive movement has in the Democratic Party.
UPDATE 9:54 p.m. ET:
Former sports reporter Michelle Tafoya wins the Republican nomination for Senate in Minnesota, AP projects. The votes are only beginning to come in but she already has over 50 percent, dwarfing totals for Adam Schwarze and Royce White.
UPDATE 9:30 p.m. ET:
Upset alert! Could Hong go down in Wisconsin?
One reason (of many) some progressives were skittish about endorsing her was Abdulrahmad Mohammed el-Sayed’s performance last week in Michigan. Despite most polls showing him winning by double digits, he only won by a single point, garnering 48.5 percent to Rep. Haley Stevens’ 47.5.
Could the polling showing Hong cruising be similarly wrong?
Only about 6 percent is in, but Kalshi, the prediction market, has her chances of winning plummeting from a high of 96 percent to under 50 percent with David Crowley running ahead.
UPDATE 9:34 p.m. ET:
An incumbent is looking like he will go down in Connecticut. Democrat Rep. John Larson, first elected in 1999, is looking like he will lose his primary to Luke Bronin.
Age was more of an issue than ideology. The 78-year-old Larson’s office said he suffered a complex partial seizer after freezing during a speech on the House floor.
He may soon be able to begin his belated retirement.
UPDATE 9:24 p.m. ET:
Rep. Tom Tiffany will be the Republican nominee for governor in Wisconsin, AP projects to no surprise. The attorney and House Freedom Caucus member will be a strong candidate for governor in a state that has trended blue lately.
UPDATE 9:05 p.m. ET:
There we go. Rep. Ralph Norman and Sen. Darline Graham Nordone will face off on August 25 for the Republican nomination for Senate in South Carolina, the AP projects.
Nordone has the Trump endorsement, but only garnered a third of the vote with 82 percent of votes in. Norman’s impressive showing, getting 24 percent thus far in emerging as the top challenger to the appointed incumbent, gives him momentum going into the runoff.
What will Trump do? Will he go hard to the paint to push for Nordone? Norman is usually a Trump ally, sometimes breaking with the president to the right, but he also endorsed South Carolina native Nikki Haley in 2024 in a move less dictated by ideology than state politics.
This will be a low turnout runoff that could get fun to watch.
UPDATE 8:50 p.m. ET:
Norman has surged ahead of Fry for second place. His lead is almost 10,000, which in a low turnout race like this means he is about three percentage points ahead. About 74 percent of votes are in, so this might be called soon.
UPDATE 8:18 p.m. ET:
The AP projects Sen. Nordone will advance to the runoff, as expected. Reps. Fry and Norman are neck-and-neck at 23 percent each, with Fry a few hundred votes ahead.
UPDATE 8:15 p.m. ET:
The race is still incredibly tight in what is a low turnout midterm special election. Norman briefly pulled ahead of Fry for second place, but Fry now leads by a couple percentage points – just over 2,000 votes.
As expected, Fry’s congressional district in the northeast of the state turned out heavily for him, while Norman’s district in the northwest turned out for him. Nordone leads in most of the rest of the state, with Sanford doing better in his home base of Charleston and the surrounding lowcountry.
UPDATE 8:07 p.m. ET:
Sen. Nordone has the clear lead in the South Carolina Republican Senatorial primary. with 30 percent of the projected vote in, she is sitting pretty at 32 percent and is almost a lock for the runoff.
Rep. Fry is in second with 26 percent, with Rep. Norman behind at 21.
Despite some buzz around Mark Sanford, he is at 15 percent.
Bradley Jaye is Political Editor for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter and Instagram @BradleyAJaye.
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