Democratic socialists have seen a surge of victories in the primaries leading up to the midterm elections, but last night in Wisconsin, they suffered a setback.
The Democrat-socialist wave faltered in “The Badger State” Tuesday as establishment candidate David Crowley beat out Francesca Hong in the bid for the Democratic nomination for governor.
Crowley, the Milwaukee County Executive, won by a razor-thin margin of 39.8% to 39.4%.
Hong had faced backlash from Republicans and fellow Democrats over a series of past controversial statements, including her desire to abolish the police and cancel Thanksgiving.
In a now-deleted post on X, Hong wrote, “Should have done this in 1621,” as she claimed the holiday was a “celebration of colonialism.”
Hong recently walked back those comments. “My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving,” Hong said in a recent interview. “Yep, I don’t want to cancel it. I actually love it.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who is a member of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists for America, did not support Hong, but she did offer an excuse for the controversial statements.
“She’s moved away from it, and I have a local city councilman that has this uh, saying, ‘woke one was crazy,'” AOC said during an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press.
Still, the progressive wing of the Democratic Party continues to score wins against establishment candidates.
In Minnesota, progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan defeated establishment candidate Angie Craig in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. Her win follows a string of victories for far-left Democrat candidates in recent months.
The outcome of these Democratic primaries will shape how the Democratic Party defines its identity and core messaging for the November midterms.
On the Republican side, My Pillow founder Mike Lindell lost the primary for Minnesota governor to Lisa Demuth, who will now take on senator and former presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar in November.
Meanwhile, down in South Carolina, Sen. Darline Graham advanced to a runoff in the special Republican primary to replace her late brother Lindsey Graham in the U.S. Senate.
“I want to say that this is a very emotional night because I’m usually standing here celebrating with Lindsey, so I know he’s looking down right now, smiling,” Graham said during her victory speech.
