Minnesota, Wisconsin Primaries Divide Democrats

Democratic primaries in Minnesota and Wisconsin on Tuesday put the party’s progressive-versus-moderate fight at the center of two major midterm nominations: Minnesota’s open U.S. Senate seat and Wisconsin’s open governor’s race. In Minnesota, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, backed by Bernie Sanders and Sen. Tina Smith, faced Rep. Angie Craig for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor nomination to succeed Smith, who is not seeking reelection. The contests followed Abdul El-Sayed’s narrow Michigan Senate primary win over Rep. Haley Stevens, intensifying attention on whether progressive candidates can keep defeating establishment-aligned Democrats.