Battle for the soul of Democrats seen through prism of bitter Senate primaries

The battle for the soul of the party is most acute in a series of contentious Senate primaries that will soon determine whether the establishment’s more centrist candidates will square off against Republicans in November, or whether the party’s more progressive upstarts will.

Rivalry outcomes in battleground toss-ups such as Maine and Michigan will have particular influence over the party’s broader strategy heading into the midterm elections to claw back control in Washington and how it approaches resisting President Donald Trump.

But so too will competitive Democratic contests in states where the general elections are not as competitive, including Senate seats in left-leaning Minnesota and conservative Texas.

“I don’t think the old paradigms really fit anymore. It isn’t really right or left,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), a leadership member who is backing more progressive candidates in Minnesota and Michigan, told the Washington Examiner. “It’s whether you sort of see the biggest fight as … sort of workers vs. corporations.”

Will voters best reward candidates with more leftist views and blanket Trump resistance or moderated pragmatism that includes working across the aisle and melding with the establishment?

The party’s campaign arms, in this case the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, tend to bolster more establishment-aligned choices they feel have better odds in the general election, but are also less likely to create headaches for leadership once in Washington.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has landed several top-tier recruits who fit the mold, including Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME), former Gov. Roy Cooper in North Carolina, former Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio, and former Rep. Mary Peltola in Alaska. Or, as Schumer recently put it to Politico, “the four states we have to pick up to win back the Senate.”

In addition to ideological differences, competitive primaries offer referendums on age. And while Schumer and the DSCC indicate their candidate of choice in Michigan is Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), they are largely keeping their powder dry in Minnesota and Texas.

“It’s a generational shift,” Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf, whose past clients include former President Bill Clinton and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, described the primaries more broadly. “They’re fighting among generations for control of structures that only exist because big money puts the cash out.”

Michigan

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow’s latest big-name endorsement included Murphy, despite other leadership preferences for establishment-backed Stevens.

“Right now, we need fighters in the U.S. Senate,” Murphy said in his endorsement of McMorrow, who has been buoyed by strong name recognition. “Fighters that are willing to take on Donald Trump and his corporate backers. Fighters who will bring new energy and spirit to the Senate. In this moment, status quo won’t cut it.”

Stevens campaign spokesman Arik Wolk said in a statement that the congresswoman “views this as a race about the future of Michigan’s economy, which is why she is laser focused on manufacturing, lowering costs for Michigan families, and taking on Trump’s chaotic tariffs.” Wolk added that Stevens is “the only non-millionaire in the race, and poll after poll shows she is the only Democrat who can beat Mike Rogers.”

Former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El Sayed, who aligns more with McMorrow’s progressive streak, is also in the mix to prevent the presumptive GOP nominee, former Rep. Mike Rogers, from flipping a seat held by retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI).

In a statement, El Sayed’s campaign positioned the medical physician as a liberal outsider embracing Medicare-for-all who best contrasts Rogers’s long career in politics and work as a former lobbyist, but who can win enough independents and Republicans. He has the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

“Abdul is confident that his message — getting money out of politics, money in pockets and Medicare for All — is the strongest in the race,” said Roxie Richner, the El Sayed campaign communications director.

Notably, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), who narrowly defeated Rogers in 2024, is staying neutral in the primary.

“These are all good Michigan leaders,” Slotkin told the Washington Examiner. “This is a very Michigander fight.”

Minnesota

Establishment-backed Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) is framing her more centrist candidacy against progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan as the only viable option to defeat Republicans’ preferred candidate, former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya.

“I think the old guard ways that we define ourselves have been thrown out the window,” Craig told the Washington Examiner. “This is a populous moment; I’m leading the anti-monopoly caucus here in the United States Congress.”

Anti-ICE sentiment is becoming a flashpoint between Craig, who represents a swing district outside Minneapolis, and Flanagan, who has accused Craig of hardening her anti-ICE stance to appease voters. Craig is advocating the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose agency oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and criticized the administration’s handling of what Democrats say are overly aggressive and sometimes illegal tactics.

“Peggy Flanagan is a progressive fighter who will overhaul ICE and hold Kristi Noem accountable for what she is doing to Minnesotans,” Flanagan campaign spokeswoman Alexandra Fetissoff said in a statement. “Angie Craig was the only Minnesota Democrat to vote for Trump’s immigration policies including the Laken Riley Act, which gave ICE more power and weakened due process rights for those detained, and to praise ICE when agents were already on the ground terrorizing people in Los Angeles. Minnesotans are demanding a leader who will stand up to Trump, not someone like Craig who votes to support Trump’s policies more than any other Minnesota Democrat.”

The state is also facing fallout from a widespread fraud scandal that contributed to Gov. Tim Walz’s (D-MN) retirement and could be baggage for Flanagan.

“I’ve had a track record of being able to attract independent voters,” Craig said. “I’ve had a track record of being able to win a few Republicans, as well.”

Maine

Mills and Schumer are trying to fend off liberal insurgent Graham Platner, a former oyster farmer and Marine veteran who has racked up union endorsements and support from Sanders, a fundraising juggernaut.

Platner’s political inexperience and scandals, including a former Nazi tattoo and offensive past social media posts, have prompted criticism that he is ill-suited for the party’s decadeslong endeavor to oust five-term centrist Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).

Trump’s sweeping illegal immigration agenda is forcing Collins to walk a tightrope on escalating ICE operations in Maine. But like in Minnesota, the issue is also creating a litmus test among Democrats over their willingness to support defunding or abolishing the agency. Platner joined anti-ICE protesters over the weekend, while state police are already enforcing a law to limit cooperation with federal immigration officials months before it is set to take effect in July.

Neither campaign responded to requests for comments.

Platner urged leaders not to “drag their feet or merely express their concern” in a recent statement.

“Simply saying we will fight back is not enough,” Platner said. “We need to actually fight back. That means organizing. It means showing up in the streets. It means holding ICE and this administration accountable.”

Mills, in a recent statement of her own, said that “Congress, including Susan Collins, should curtail funding for ICE until they stop their aggressive tactics that are just instilling fear and anxiety in people across the state.”

Texas

While Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) and state Rep. James Talarico both champion liberal causes in a bid to oust Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), it is Crockett who is testing the electorate’s appetite for a vocal rabble-rouser who national Democrats fear could spoil their already slim chances of flipping the seat.

In a scathing warning against nominating Crockett, Democratic strategist Jon Reinish urged his party to focus on winning rather than imperfect ideologies.

“Your job is not to go by outdated definitions,” Reinish said. “Your job is to f***ing win. And if you’re not going to win, and if you have no path to victory, or you’re just there to raise your own profile and get a bunch of clicks and likes, move aside for people who can win, because there’s no such thing as a moral victory, and winning is the only thing that matters, period.”

Both Democrats lead on progressive values and have seen their national name recognition rise under Trump’s second term. But Crockett’s abrasive nature and unabashed opinions have turned off party leaders who insist that, with the right candidate, they can flip a seat that hasn’t been won by a Democrat since 1988. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) celebrated her candidacy as “one of the greatest things that have happened to the Republican Party in a long, long time.”

Republicans face their own concerns about electability, as Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton polls ahead of Cornyn in the primary but struggles against Talarico in one-on-one matchups for the general election.

Crockett says her style provides an avenue to fire up the base and those who have disassociated from the party.

DEMOCRATS MAP OUT NARROW SENATE PATH AS PARTY TESTS CONFIDENCE AGAINST TOUGH TERRAIN

“If you believe we’re going to lose anyway, then what difference does it make if it’s me or anybody else?” Crockett told the Washington Post. “If you think we’re a losing cause, then who cares? But at least you could say we tried something new, and we learned something from this experience.”

The Crockett campaign did not respond to a request for comment. The Talarico campaign declined to comment.