GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — Lately, the press has fixated on a supposed civil war between the Democrats moderate establishment and its left-wing flank. In New York and Colorado, far-left newcomers won House primaries by condemning American military aid for Israel and the billionaire class. Meanwhile, in Maine, Graham Platner vanquished a sitting governor in the state’s Senate primary with a similar message before suspending his campaign following reports of a rape allegation.
Yet a closer look at the party’s primary politics suggests that there is no war—at least, not yet. Progressive populists keep winning, while Democratic incumbents fail to persuasively challenge their opponents’ most radical views.
The next major test for the party will take place in less than a month, when Michigan’s Democratic voters choose their Senate candidate—and the biggest question is whether anyone can stop Abdul El-Sayed.
