Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer suffered a second consecutive primary setback Tuesday night as the progressive left notched another major win over the Democratic establishment.
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan crushed moderate Rep. Angie Craig by roughly 20 points to capture the Democratic Senate nomination in Minnesota. Craig, a Schumer-backed candidate, becomes the second establishment favorite in a week to fall to a progressive challenger — following last week’s Michigan Senate primary upset.
The loss dealt another blow to Schumer’s influence in shaping his party’s Senate nominees. Flanagan has publicly stated that if elected in November, she would not support Schumer remaining as Democratic leader.
“CHUCK SCHUMER’S ESTABLISHMENT CANDIDATES ARE 0 FOR 2 IN THE UPPER MIDWEST”
Flanagan, who was backed by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, will now face GOP nominee Michele Tafoya, a former longtime NBC Sports reporter, in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith. It’s been 24 years since a Republican won a U.S. Senate election in Minnesota, but Flanagan’s victory may boost GOP hopes of flipping the seat in a left-leaning but competitive state.
The progressive wave hit a speed bump in Wisconsin.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley narrowly defeated democratic socialist state Rep. Francesca Hong in the state’s gubernatorial primary — handing the Democratic establishment a narrow victory in what was seen as the biggest ballot-box face-off between the far left and the center.
“I know we don’t have the final results right now but I do know we are ready to keep fighting,” Hong told supporters at a primary night event in Wisconsin’s capital city before the race was called.
Hong, a former chef and single parent who is a Democratic Socialists of America member, led in final pre-primary polls by double digits. But the polls were off again — just as they were a week ago when left-wing Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed narrowly edged moderate Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan.
Crowley consolidated support from mainstream Democrats and was backed by retiring Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who joined him on the campaign trail in the closing stretch. Both questioned Hong’s electability and warned that a victory by her would help Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany in the general election.
Hong ran on a platform that includes guaranteed paid leave, boosting the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 to $20 per hour, and a one-year moratorium in Wisconsin on building AI data centers. She faced scrutiny over years-old social media posts calling for defunding and abolishing the police — though she now says she no longer supports cutting police budgets or abolishing police departments.
She also made national headlines over the past two weeks for a resurfaced 2020 social media post where she argued that the country should “cancel Thanksgiving” to “stop celebrating colonialism.” Hong walked back the comments amid backlash and now says Thanksgiving is her “favorite holiday.”
The generational purge continues.
Rep. John Larson of Connecticut became the seventh House Democrat ousted so far this primary season. Larson, who’s been in Congress for nearly three decades, was defeated by double digits in Connecticut’s 1st Congressional District by former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.
The 47-year-old Bronin is three decades younger than the 78-year-old Larson, who became the latest political victim of a push by Democratic voters to sweep out older incumbents and replace them with younger leaders.
“John Larson is a good man, but he’s been in Congress since the 90s. The stakes are just too high to keep doing the same thing,” Bronin, a retired Naval intelligence officer, argued in one of his campaign ads.
Larson countered by touting his experience. “We are a country in absolute crisis. We need our toughest fighters. I’ve taken on Trump, DOGE, and ICE, and won,” Larson wrote in a social media post.
The generational battle will likely play out on a larger stage in a couple of weeks, as 47-year-old Rep. Seth Moulton challenges 80-year-old Sen. Ed Markey in the party’s Senate primary in Democrat-dominated Massachusetts.
Split decision for Trump’s endorsements.
Backed by Trump, appointed Sen. Darline Graham captured the most votes in Tuesday’s special Republican Senate primary in South Carolina. But with no candidate topping 50%, Graham will face off in a runoff in two weeks with Rep. Ralph Norman, who came in second.
“I want to thank President Trump, his steadfast support and his complete and total endorsement means so much to me. He knows that I will stand with him and fight for his agenda, just like Lindsey did,” Graham said at her primary night event.
The special primary was held to fill the seat of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, who suddenly died at age 71 one month ago. Darline Graham is his sister.
Meanwhile, Trump suffered a rare endorsement setback in Minnesota. Mike Lindell, the MyPillow founder and former CEO who is a close Trump ally, had Trump’s backing but lost the Minnesota Republican gubernatorial primary to state House Speaker Lisa Demuth.
The winner of the South Carolina Senate runoff in two weeks will be considered the clear front-runner in the solidly red state against Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, a pediatrician.
