Hong, Flanagan, Craig run in key races

Progressives and moderates will face off again in Tuesday’s Democratic primary elections in Wisconsin and Minnesota as the party decides whether to lurch further to the left or chart toward the middle after crushing losses to Republicans in 2024.

Populist progressives in recent months have capitalized on economic anger to defeat establishment Democratic candidates across the country, setting off a potentially seismic political shift within the party. Last week in Michigan, progressive former health official Abdul El-Sayed defeated the more moderate Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens in a primary to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich. — the latest stunning upset for longtime party power brokers who backed Stevens.

The progressive swell will be tested again on Tuesday as candidates in the mold of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., vie for gubernatorial and Senate nominations in Wisconsin and Minnesota against establishment-backed moderates.

In Wisconsin, Francesca Hong is running to be the state’s next governor and is the clear polling favorite heading into Election Day. Hong, who leads the field by double digits in recent polls, is endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America’s Milwaukee chapter and is a staunch progressive. Some prominent Democrats such as Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., have endorsed Hong.

Some of Hong’s past comments, including calling for the cancellation of Thanksgiving and abolishing the police, have garnered scrutiny in recent days. Hong has since distanced herself from both statements.

She is facing a field that includes the more moderate Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who is endorsed by retiring Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. Crowley had previously dropped out of the race, but reentered and scored Evers’ endorsements as some Democrats fear Hong is too progressive to win the general election in the purple state.

Hong’s platform includes offering universal childcare, creating publicly-owned grocery stores, establishing a public option healthcare plan and launching a public bank. She has also called for raising taxes on the wealthy in Wisconsin to pay for more services.

The winner of the Democratic contest will likely face Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., in the general election. Tiffany, who has served in the House since 2020, represents northern Wisconsin. He is a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus.

Tiffany is proposing freezing property taxes, rolling back other tax increases and increasing energy production.

Republicans have seized on the surge of progressives in the Democratic Party, branding the party’s left flank as “communists.” None of the high-profile Democrats in key primaries this year support communist policies.