Socialist insurgents force moderate Democrats into high-risk showdown over must-hold races

The Democratic Party's ideological war is moving 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 November.

After far-left and socialist candidates defeated more moderate contenders in deep-blue districts last month, upcoming Senate primaries in Michigan and Minnesota and Wisconsin’s gubernatorial primary will test whether the movement can translate those wins into statewide power.

Progressive champion Sen. 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."

After victories by far-left and socialist candidates over more moderate contenders in deep-blue congressional districts in New York City and Colorado last month drew outsized national attention, upcoming primaries in Michigan and Wisconsin are now the latest battleground in the high-stakes showdown.

And the center is pushing back.

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"Socialism has not worked anywhere on the globe," former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday in an interview on Fox Business' "Mornings with Maria." "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."

The former governor resigned amid multiple scandals five years ago and failed in his political comeback last year, losing New York City’s mayoral election to socialist Zohran Mamdani,

The victories by a trio of far-left congressional candidates in New York City heavily supported by Mamdani, followed a week later by Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-backed challenger and first-time candidate Melat Kiros' defeat of 15-term Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette in Colorado, have emboldened progressives as they wage a far-left national pressure campaign against the Democratic Party.

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"Only socialism can solve decades of capitalist mismanagement in the US. Our newly elected leaders will fight for the working class — not for crumbs," the DSA proclaimed in a social media post celebrating the string of primary election victories.

That view is far from universal.

"I'm tired of being told that, to be a progressive, I now must swear allegiance to crazy ideas," Democratic political analyst Van Jones, a veteran of then-President Barack Obama's administration, lamented in a social media post.

"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," Jones wrote.

Jamie Metzl, a technology and healthcare futurist who years ago served in former President Bill Clinton's administration, said in a Fox News Channel interview that it's 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."

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Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, another progressive rockstar, parachuted into Michigan's campaign trail this past weekend to boost Abdul El-Sayed, the far-left candidate they're 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 Rep. Haley Stevens, a more moderate lawmaker backed by longtime Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer and the establishment.

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The winner of the Aug. 4 Democratic primary will take on former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, who is on a glide path to the GOP nomination, in the key midterm Senate faceoff to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. 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.

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The far-left candidate has also called for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and is a vocal critic of Israel amid its war with Hamas — even characterizing Israel's actions in Gaza as "genocide" against Palestinians. And 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 expensive, with outside groups spending big bucks to flood the campaign trail with ads. The biggest spending, to boost Stevens and attack El-Sayed, is United Democracy Project, a political action committee aligned with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

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"I think we're at an opportunity to show folks where the Democratic Party ought to go. Whether or not there are people who oppose that, that's for them to decide. But if you're opposing that on behalf of big corporations, folks like AIPAC, you're going to find that their power is going to start to slip," El-Sayed warned in a Fox News interview on Sunday.

Sanders, speaking alongside El-Sayed and Ocasio-Cortez on Saturday, argued, "In all due respect to Haley Stevens, everyone knows that this is not an election between her and Abdul El-Sayed. This is an election between Abdul and the billionaire class."

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a vocal critic of the far left and a top Democratic supporter of Israel, fired back in a Fox News Channel interview.

"You know, humble yourself, Bernie. You know, you just pushed an accused rapist and imploded up in Maine and now you’re pushing, you know, essentially a pro-Hamas candidate that’s been anti-American and deeply anti-Israel," Fetterman said as he pointed to Sanders' support over the past year for now-ex-Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner of Maine.

Platner ended his campaign earlier this month, amid calls from top Democrats in Maine and across the country to immediately exit the race following an explosive report containing an allegation of rape from a woman he previously dated. Platner denied the report but stepped aside.

One week after the showdown in Michigan, on Aug. 11, Wisconsin will hold its primary elections. That's where DSA-backed state Rep. Francesca Hong is on the rise among a crowded field of candidates in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

"It’s a great day to be a democratic socialist," Hong posted on X last month after the progressive victories in New York City, in which two Democratic congressional incumbents lost renomination. "Wisconsin is next!"

The same day, another statewide battle will take place as progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota and more moderate Democratic Rep. Angie Craig are the leading contenders in the Democratic primary faceoff to succeed retiring Sen. Tina Smith, a fellow Democrat.

While the upcoming primary battles will impact the fight for the future of the party, there's a more immediate concern: this year's midterm faceoff for congressional majorities.

"What you’re seeing here are the two opposing forces of the Democratic Party," veteran Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo told Fox News Digital as he referred to the ballot box showdowns. "The stakes are monumentally high because Democrats have to hold these seats in November."