MADISON, WISCONSIN – AUGUST 11: Residents vote in the state’s primary election on August 11, 2026 in Madison, Wisconsin.
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Voters in half a dozen states went to the polls Tuesday. The results highlight the ongoing conflicts within both parties ahead of the November midterms.
Democratic primaries in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Connecticut signaled what the party’s base may want from new leaders: a harder line against President Trump’s immigration crackdown and younger, more progressive nominees, as a 14-term congressman was swept aside by a candidate under 50.
On the Republican side, the night tested how far Trump’s endorsement still carries, even with his approval at a second-term low, and the answer was mixed. His endorsements won in some states and stumbled in others.
The president sees mixed results as kingmaker
Trump-endorsed candidates in South Carolina’s Senate primary and Wisconsin’s gubernatorial race performed well Tuesday, highlighting that even amid his lowest approval rating in his second presidency so far, voters still have an ear for him. But Trump’s pick for Minnesota’s governor struggled Tuesday.
In South Carolina, the Trump-endorsed Sen. Darline Graham advanced to a special Republican primary runoff election for the U.S. Senate despite competing with several GOP heavyweights in a crowded race, according to a race call by The Associated Press.
Graham will now face Rep. Ralph Norman in the Aug. 25 special primary runoff. Norman, who also advanced Tuesday, is a member of the House Freedom Caucus and had endorsements by GOP Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Rick Scott of Florida.
Soon after she was appointed to the seat in July to complete the term of her late brother, Lindsey Graham, she announced that she was running for the full-term Senate seat on the president’s encouragement. Trump held a tele-rally for her this week and said: “[She] will help us achieve our mission to make America great again,”
MADISON, WISCONSIN – AUGUST 11: Residents vote in the state’s primary election on August 11, 2026 in Madison, Wisconsin.
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While no candidate was on track to win the majority needed for the Republican nomination, Graham competed in a crowded field of experienced policymakers and finished first with about a third of the vote. Two thirds of Republicans voted for Norman and Rep. Russell Fry, who were not endorsed by Trump.
In Wisconsin, a swing state, Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, who voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election results back in January of 2021 and denied the 2020 presidential election, won his party’s nomination by a landslide, in a race called by the AP Tuesday night.
Tiffany had Trump’s endorsement and a united Republican backing.
Rhett Marques, an Alabama state representative endorsed by Trump, also clinched the Republican nomination for the congressional district that runs from Mobile County through the southern Black Belt to the Georgia border.
However, in Minnesota, Trump had endorsed Mike Lindell, a staunch Trump ally and the founder of MyPillow, a pillows and bedding accessories company, for the GOP gubernatorial primary, and he lost his primary to Lisa Demuth, the speaker of the Minnesota House.
Lindell had faced questions about residency requirements from the Republican Party of Minnesota and allegations that he physically abused a former girlfriend. He has denied both claims.
Demuth, 59, has presided over a state house that was almost evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats and has billed herself as the Republican with the best chance of winning in the fall.
She will face four-time Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who won the Democratic gubernatorial race Tuesday night. Klobuchar announced her decision to run for governor after Gov. Tim Walz abandoned his bid for a third term in January.
Minnesota’s Republican Party has not won a governor’s race in two decades.
Immigration as a litmus test for the Democratic Party
The competitive Democratic Senate race in Minnesota was being looked at as a litmus test deciding if the party has enough spine to effectively oppose Trump’s immigration policies and enforcement operations.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – AUGUST 11: Supporters celebrate during a primary election night party for Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, at First Avenue on August 11, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Flanagan defeated Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in the state’s primary election.
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With Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan’s primary win against Rep. Angie Craig Tuesday night, in a race called by the AP, it appears the base wants their party leaders to oppose ICE and Operation Metro Surge, a large-scale immigration enforcement operation launched by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in December 2025 which heavily impacted the Twin Cities and shaped much of this Senate race.
While campaigning, Flanagan brought up a vote Craig made in Congress for a Trump-backed immigration policy: the Laken Riley Act which expands the scope of who can be arrested, detained and deported by federal immigration officers. It passed with bipartisan support in 2025.
Craig, for her part, has since walked back on that vote and said she regrets backing the bill. She also pushed back on the suggestion that she’s been a moderate in confronting Trump during her time in Congress.
Many of Flanagan’s ads focused on Craig voting in favor of the act, and Tuesday’s result offers some clues about where the Democratic base stands on the issue and how the party should treat it moving forward.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – AUGUST 11: Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, speaks during a primary election night party at First Avenue on August 11, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Flanagan defeated Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in the state’s primary election.
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Flanagan will be up against Republican former sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya, who beat out retired Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze and ex-NBA player Royce White, in a race call by the AP.
Progressive Democrats continue to fight hard, but there isn’t a clear way forward for the party
Two major races meant to test the power of progressive candidates included Minnesota’s Democratic Senate primary between the more progressive Flanagan and centrist Craig, as well as Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary.
For weeks, Francesca Hong, a 37-year-old chef, a state lawmaker, and a democratic socialist, had been leading the polls against David Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive and more mainstream candidate, in a state that is purple in presidential elections. But after being locked in a tight race on Tuesday night, Crowley was declared the winner, in a call made by the AP early Wednesday.
The tight race, despite Hong’s controversial track record of statements, which included canceling Thanksgiving, and lack of endorsement from Sen. Bernie Sanders, signals the Democratic base is looking for change.
MADISON, WISCONSIN – AUGUST 11: With her son George by her side, Democratic Wisconsin Gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong votes in the primary election on August 11, 2026 in Madison, Wisconsin.
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Hong’s high-energy grassroots campaign has been fueled by progressives who are drawn to her unusual background and left-wing politics. She backs “Medicare for All” and universal childcare, and has called for a moratorium on data centers, a key issue for midterm voters.
Crowley abandoned his campaign in July only to jump back in days later, this time with an endorsement from the outgoing Gov. Tony Evers. The reversal was a final push to channel the departing governor’s popularity toward a more moderate contender.
After months of a campaign that had struggled to gain traction, Crowley’s revived bid pulled in hundreds of thousands of dollars, out-raising Hong.
In Minnesota, while Flanagan doesn’t call herself a democratic socialist, she has won endorsements from progressive Sens. Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. In May, she also secured the backing of Minnesota’s Democratic Farmer-Labor Party.
On Tuesday night, she became the latest in a series of progressive Democrats to win primaries. Progressive Democrats also scored a win last week in another Midwest state, Michigan, where epidemiologist Abdul El-Sayed won the nomination for Senate.
Generational conflict continues to brew among Democrats
In Connecticut, Democratic Rep. John Larson, 78, conceded Tuesday night, leading Luke Bronin, 47, the former Hartford mayor and a former Navy intelligence officer, to win the Democratic primary for 1st Congressional District.
Bronin was endorsed by the party and his win is yet another sign of Democratic voters’ calls for generational change in the Party and their willingness to move on from longtime incumbents.
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA – AUGUST 11: Voters register at a polling place in Merriam Park Library on August 11, 2026 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
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Earlier this year, NPR reported that this cycle, more than 80 Gen Z and millennial candidates will be running to challenge or succeed House Democrats who are 65 and older, according to a report by the Democratic fundraising platform Oath. This is a big increase from the 24 under-50 Democratic candidates who took on older incumbents last cycle.
Even as a record number of lawmakers have signaled that they’ll leave Congress after this year, including longtime leaders like Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., many House Democrats have resisted the pressure to make way for a new generation.
