DETROIT — The Democratic Party’s progressive wing was aiming to notch its biggest victory yet Tuesday and deliver a high-profile blow to the center-left establishment in an intensifying ideological battle.
But the anticipated triumph in battleground Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary will have to wait.
The race between progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed, a former Wayne County health director, and Rep. Haley Stevens, a more moderate contender, remained too close to call early Wednesday.
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While the night’s biggest prize remained undecided as five states held primary elections, Democratic establishment candidates scored several victories. Those included Rep. Wesley Bell of Missouri defeating Democratic Socialists of America-backed challenger and former Rep. Cori Bush, a onetime “Squad” member, in a rematch of their 2024 showdown.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s powerful sway over the Republican Party was reaffirmed as two Trump-backed candidates won gubernatorial nominations in Michigan and Kansas.
Here are the top takeaways from a busy primary night across the country.
Verdict still out in high-stakes showdown
“We’re going to have to wait a little longer to see the outcome of this race,” El-Sayed told supporters at a primary night event in Detroit early Wednesday morning.
El-Sayed, who was backed by prominent progressive leaders including Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, held a razor-thin lead over Stevens as votes continued to be counted. Stevens was supported by establishment figures including Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the longtime Senate Democratic leader.
“I know it’s been a long night because that’s the Michigan way. But I want to give you all an update. We knew that this was going to be a close race, and that’s exactly what we’ve got. A close race,” Stevens said.
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The race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, who backed Stevens, is a must-win contest for Democrats and one of roughly a dozen Senate races expected to determine whether Republicans retain their narrow majority.
Boosted by a string of victories this spring in predominantly Democratic congressional districts, the party’s progressive wing brought its ideological battle with the establishment to the Great Lakes battleground. The combustible and expensive contest became the biggest stage yet in the intraparty fight.
El-Sayed, an epidemiologist who unsuccessfully ran for governor as an insurgent candidate in 2018, would become the nation’s first Muslim senator if elected. He has made support for “Medicare for All” a major component of his campaign.
He has also called for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and has been a vocal critic of Israel during its war against Hamas, characterizing Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” against Palestinians.
Schumer and other establishment Democrats view Stevens, who flipped a Republican-held district during her first election to Congress in 2018, as more electable than El-Sayed, whose past comments have drawn controversy.
More than $80 million was spent on the primary, making it the most expensive Democratic Senate nomination contest in history. Much of the money came from outside groups supporting Stevens or opposing El-Sayed. The largest spender was United Democracy Project, a political action committee aligned with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
“We all knew that they were going to spend their money. We didn’t know they were going to spend $70 million of their money. We didn’t know that they were going to outspend us $11 to $1. And yet we’re still standing,” El-Sayed highlighted in his speech.
El-Sayed urged party unity and took aim at former Rep. Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate nominee.
Stevens also targeted Rogers during her primary night speech.
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“Whoever wins is going to go and take on Mike Rogers. Republicans are going to do everything they can to throw all the dirt, all the mud, the kitchen sink at us because they want to keep the U.S. Senate red, so Mike Rogers can keep rubber-stamping Donald Trump’s ridiculous agenda,” she argued.
The progressive-versus-establishment battle also played out in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, a Republican-controlled swing seat that is among roughly two dozen races expected to help determine control of the House.
William Lawrence, a co-founder of the Sunrise Movement climate advocacy group, edged out two more moderate Democrats. Lawrence was backed by Sanders and El-Sayed, as well as several prominent progressive groups. He will face Republican Rep. Tom Barrett in the general election.
The party’s internal battle was also on display in Michigan’s heavily Democratic 13th Congressional District, where the Associated Press had not projected a winner early Wednesday.
Rep. Shri Thanedar, who is supported by top House Democratic leaders, was being challenged by state Rep. Donovan McKinney. McKinney was backed by Sanders, El-Sayed and “Squad” members Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Summer Lee of Pennsylvania.
Wins for centrists to cheer
The party’s ideological warfare was front and center in Missouri’s St. Louis-based, heavily Democratic 1st Congressional District.
Bell, who was backed by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and other establishment figures, defeated Bush, the former two-term representative whom Bell ousted in the 2024 primary.
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Bell was again boosted by a major infusion of outside money, allowing him to substantially outspend Bush and her allies. Much of the funding and advertising targeting Bush came from United Democracy Project, the super PAC aligned with AIPAC.
Bush was among the first House Democrats to accuse Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians during its war against Hamas in Gaza.
“Two years ago, St. Louis voted for better and more accountable representation. We have kept that promise, whether it’s bringing federal resources home to our neighborhoods, standing with working folks when they needed someone in their corner, or helping families cut through red tape,” Bell said following his victory. “That work does not stop tonight.”
Bush, however, lashed out at Bell, criticizing him for skipping candidate forums and claiming he was controlled by billionaires.
“It pisses me off that for the next two years, this community will be represented by someone that didn’t deem you valuable enough to show up to one candidate forum where there were audience comments, even though I showed up to everyone,” Bush emphasized.
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Back in Michigan, two candidates who are far from left-wingers captured Democratic nominations in statewide contests. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson won the Democratic gubernatorial primary in the race to succeed term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel was renominated.
“It’s not all that clear that the party has shifted that far to the left,” Matt Bennett, one of the leaders at the Third Way, a leading center-left Democratic organization, told Fox News Digital.
Pointing to increasingly intense Democratic opposition to Trump, Bennett said the Michigan Senate result may reflect “a unique situation where candidates matter.”
“And in this moment, Democratic voters everywhere are very very angry at Trump, and they’re flipping over the tables and taking it out on the establishment and Haley, for better or worse, has run as the establishment.”
Trump flexes political muscle
Trump’s clout within the GOP and the power of his endorsements in Republican primaries were tested again Tuesday, and the president’s preferred candidates prevailed in two gubernatorial contests.
Trump-backed Rep. John James of Michigan, a West Point graduate and two-time Republican Senate nominee, defeated multimillionaire businessman Perry Johnson, a former gubernatorial and presidential candidate, to capture the party’s gubernatorial nomination.
James will face Benson in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
In Kansas, Trump-endorsed state Senate President Ty Masterson prevailed in a crowded field of Republican gubernatorial contenders.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is term-limited, making the race to succeed her a leading pickup opportunity for Republicans.
Fox News’ Matthew Donnell and Luke Trevisan contributed to this report.
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