Left-wing Democrats are on a winning run – but can they lure back crucial swing voters?
Left-wing Democrats have enjoyed a run of primary victories this summer, but face a critical test in Michigan, where progressive Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed is locked in a tight contest with moderate Congresswoman Haley Stevens ahead of the 4 August primary. The race highlights a deepening divide in the Democratic Party between its centrist establishment and an emboldened progressive wing, led by figures such as Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, as the party tries to work out how to win back Congress and the working-class voters who shifted to Donald Trump in 2024.
El-Sayed, a doctor campaigning on "Medicare for All" and opposition to US support for Israel's actions in Gaza, drew a large, enthusiastic crowd at a Detroit rally addressed by Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez. Stevens, by contrast, has secured backing from Michigan's governor Gretchen Whitmer and outgoing Senator Gary Peters, and has benefited from substantial corporate donations. The winner will face Trump ally Mike Rogers on 3 November for a seat Democrats must retain to have any chance of regaining Senate control, while a similar progressive test looms a week later in Wisconsin's governor's race.
- Progressive Abdul El-Sayed and moderate Haley Stevens vie for Michigan's Senate primary
- Race reflects Democratic Party split between left wing and centrist establishment
- Winner faces Trump ally Mike Rogers in November's must-win Senate contest
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Progressives argue that decades of cautious centrism have failed to inspire the working-class and young voters the party has bled to Trump, and that only bold, unapologetic policies such as Medicare for All and a tougher stance on Gaza can rebuild an enthusiastic coalition. They point to the energised crowds for candidates like El-Sayed and Mamdani as evidence that authenticity and conviction, not triangulation, are what re-engage disillusioned voters and drive turnout in a general election.
The case against
Moderates counter that Senate seats in swing states are won by appealing to the broad middle, not by satisfying the party's most activist base, and that candidates like Stevens, with cross-party credibility and establishment backing, are better placed to defeat a Trump-aligned opponent in November. They warn that embracing policies seen as too far left risks alienating exactly the persuadable, moderate and working-class voters the party needs to win back, turning a winnable seat into an unnecessary gamble.