Democrats clash again in Minnesota and Wisconsin primaries as big midterm races take shape

Wisconsin Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong speaks during a campaign rally on August 2, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Joshua Lott | Getty ImagesProgressives and moderates will face off again in Tuesday's Democratic primary elections in Wisconsin and Minnesota as the party decides whether to lurch further to the left or chart toward the middle after crushing losses to Republicans in 2024.Populist progressives in recent months have capitalized on economic anger to defeat establishment Democratic candidates across the country, setting off a potentially seismic political shift within the party. Last week in Michigan, progressive former health official Abdul El-Sayed defeated the more moderate Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens in a primary to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich. — the latest stunning upset for longtime party power brokers who backed Stevens.The progressive swell will be tested again on Tuesday as candidates in the mold of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., vie for gubernatorial and Senate nominations in Wisconsin and Minnesota against establishment-backed moderates. WisconsinIn Wisconsin, Francesca Hong is running to be ...