{"id":41681,"date":"2026-08-12T21:42:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T16:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=41681"},"modified":"2026-08-12T21:42:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T16:42:01","slug":"forget-left-vs-center-democratic-voters-are-making-clear-they-just-want-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=41681","title":{"rendered":"Forget left vs. center. Democratic voters are making clear they just want change"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \"><span class=\"oyrPY qlwaB AGxeB  \">WASHINGTON &#8212; <\/span>Democrats <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/primaries-wisconsin-minnesota-democratic-party-socialist-226b31e324cdd9b72200fb9abc9acb69\">remain mixed<\/a> over what ideological direction the party should take. But across a series of closely watched primaries, they are sending a clearer message about the party\u2019s path forward: They want change.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">In marquee Senate primaries in <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/michigan-primary-senate-elsayed-stevens-60c79349b60ffbf24a34d60b76e130ed\">Michigan<\/a> and <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/minnesota-primary-flanagan-craig-lindell-senate-governor-bbadfd4d2a4a1184be74f75ed26b9b72\">Minnesota<\/a>, progressive candidates defeated two members of Congress with significant backing from party leaders. <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/wisconsin-primary-governor-hong-socialist-acd872f6cf113e741291b9b47f9d9111\">Wisconsin voters<\/a> narrowly rejected a democratic socialist but still chose a 40-year-old county executive who is seeking to become the state\u2019s first Black governor. And in <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/connecticut-john-larson-luke-bronin-democrats-congress-44408088e8b55ba6a6224713782bbf90\">Connecticut<\/a>, voters ousted one of the longest-serving Democrats in Congress for a challenger who campaigned on generational change.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The results so far this month deliver no clear ideological mandate. Instead, they add to mounting evidence from this year\u2019s primaries of an Democratic appetite for turnover that is cutting across the party\u2019s traditional divisions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cIf leaders in our party don\u2019t recognize that we need to make changes, then the changes are going to come from the ground up,&#8221; Luke Bronin, a former mayor who defeated 14-term Connecticut Rep. John Larson in Tuesday&#8217;s primary, said in his victory speech. \u201cThat&#8217;s a message our party needs to hear.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The immediate challenge for Democrats is whether they can harness the frustration fueling revolts against their own party and turn it against Republicans in November. Beyond that looms the 2028 presidential race, when a new generation of leaders will compete to shape a changing Democratic Party.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Democratic socialist Francesca Hong hoped to ride the wave of recent progressive victories, including Abdul El-Sayed\u2019s upset in neighboring Michigan\u2019s U.S. Senate primary a week earlier, to the Democratic nomination for governor in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Instead, she narrowly lost to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, a more moderate Democrat who had dropped out of the race only to reenter in its final weeks and win the backing of outgoing Gov. Tony Evers. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Hong\u2019s defeat also came after a number of her <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/defund-police-democrats-mamdani-wisconsin-michigan-56aa19ac994d73900d7b7c25d9fc1092\">past comments<\/a> resurfaced, including support for defunding the police and a call to cancel Thanksgiving that she said was a joke. And unlike El-Sayed, Hong did not receive the backing of some of the nation\u2019s most prominent progressive leaders, including Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The result illustrates a tension for the party\u2019s ascendant left flank. Candidates running on populist economic messages have found growing success with Democratic voters. But some positions associated with the progressive movement\u2019s recent past remain vulnerabilities \u2014 particularly among voters worried about electability in November.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">That tension was evident Tuesday for Sarah Atkins Hoggatt, 61, who said she agreed with Hong on issues including reproductive rights and Medicare for All but worried that Hong\u2019s deeply progressive politics and the democratic socialist label would make it harder for her to defeat Republican Tom Tiffany.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cI voted for someone who I think has a better chance\u201d to beat Tiffany, said Atkins Hoggatt, who sells construction materials and drainage systems. She voted for Crowley.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cI didn\u2019t vote my heart,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Progressives scored a much clearer victory in Minnesota, where Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan resoundingly defeated centrist Rep. Angie Craig. Craig had the backing of House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and several senators from battleground states.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Flanagan had her own powerful allies, including Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and outgoing Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith, who rallied with her in the campaign\u2019s final weeks. But she also sought to turn Craig\u2019s advantages against her, highlighting her support from wealthy donors and attacking her vote for a Trump-backed immigration bill that became a liability after immigration agents shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">As in Michigan, the winning progressive candidate was significantly outspent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cFor months now, I have been telling you that this campaign was about the many versus the money,\u201d Flanagan said as she celebrated her victory in Minneapolis. \u201cWell guess what? The many just won.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The contrasting results in Minnesota and Wisconsin underscore why November will provide a more consequential test of the progressive movement\u2019s gains. El-Sayed and Flanagan must now prove that the messages that powered their primary victories can resonate with a broader voting pool in the general election.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Flanagan is 46 years old. Crowley is 40. And El-Sayed is 41. But nowhere was the demand for <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/young-democrats-incumbents-veterans-election-midterms-9d56be522bea570f586037a6895ff82a\">generational change<\/a> more explicit Tuesday than in Connecticut.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Bronin, 47, defeated the 78-year-old Larson. A central theme of Bronin\u2019s campaign was the need for a new generation of leadership in Washington, an argument that helped him win the state Democratic Party\u2019s endorsement months before his decisive primary victory.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cThe goal is to shake things up in Washington D.C., and we are just getting started,\u201d Bronin said after his victory. He was a sophomore at Yale when Larson was first elected to Congress in 1998.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Larson became the seventh Democratic House incumbent to lose a primary this year, many of them to younger challengers. The defeated incumbents and the Democrats replacing them span ideological lines, making the wave of losses difficult to explain simply as a shift to the left.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The push for generational turnover has taken on greater urgency since Democrats\u2019 defeats in 2024, when concerns about President Joe Biden\u2019s age ultimately ended his reelection campaign and forced the party into an uncomfortable reckoning over a generation of leaders who had remained in power for decades.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Bronin himself has connected his challenge to that experience. Earlier this year, he argued that Democrats needed \u201cnew members of Congress, new Democratic leaders who have the energy and courage and clarity of mission that this moment demands.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">That sentiment was evident among voters in Larson\u2019s district as well. Dan Schnaidt, a 73-year-old Democrat, told The Associated Press months before the primary that he appreciated Larson\u2019s service but believed it was time to move on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cIt\u2019s time for new blood, for new ideas,\u201d Schnaidt said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">While Hong fell just short in Wisconsin, the strength of her insurgent campaign highlighted another force reshaping Democratic politics: <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/young-voters-democrats-elsayed-piker-dingell-39af2f7ec9517febe2b15701f4ed26cd\">younger voters<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Cody Chandler, a 35-year-old software engineer, voted for Hong and called her \u201cprobably the most exciting candidate I\u2019ve seen.\u201d Unlike in elections past, Chandler said, he voted for the candidate he most wanted to win rather than the one he considered most electable.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Jesse Heer, a 32-year-old Madison business owner, also backed Hong, citing her focus on affordability as the top reason for his vote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">That support showed up geographically. Hong won Madison, home to the University of Wisconsin\u2019s flagship campus, by nearly 7 percentage points, though it wasn&#8217;t a big enough of a margin to help her win the nomination. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">A similar pattern helped propel El-Sayed to victory a week earlier in Michigan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">El-Sayed won Washtenaw County, home to the University of Michigan, by nearly 25 percentage points and Ingham County, home to Michigan State University, by 23 points. He also won Grand Rapids, with its large population of younger, college-educated voters, by nearly 26 points.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Jordan Snyder, a 20-year-old Michigan voter who supported El-Sayed, said she backed him because of his progressive positions and because she viewed him as someone she could trust, rather than \u201csomeone who I feel could be bought and sold.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN \">\u201cPeople are feeling like a lot of the people that they\u2019ve trusted that have been in government haven\u2019t really been living up to expectations,\u201d Snyder said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WASHINGTON &#8212; Democrats remain mixed over what ideological direction the party should take. But across a series of closely watched primaries, they are sending a clearer message about the party\u2019s path forward: They want change. In marquee Senate primaries in Michigan and Minnesota, progressive candidates defeated two members of Congress with significant backing from party&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41682,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/8fda41f1-dc65-4766-9d77-91c2dfcfed6b\/wirestory_0618c650d24c17a2a8f2d3273d813808_16x9.jpg?w=1600","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/41682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}