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Francesca Hong’s Loss Is Both a Blessing and a Curse for Progressives

newrepublic.com · 7h · first reportShare

The progressive momentum of the summer has stalled. Francesca Hong’s surprising loss in Wisconsin’s gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, following the unexpectedly narrow victory of Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed last week, calls for a reassessment of the state of Democratic voters. They might be frustrated with the party establishment, but they still appear to be cautious about fully embracing progressives, particularly in swing states. The primaries in New York and Colorado , where three House incumbents were unseated and other more establishment and center-left candidates were defeated, suggested that Democratic voters were moving both ideologically leftward and away from heeding the guidance of party leaders. In those states and others, candidates backed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and the Democratic Socialists of America were winning and beating opponents supported by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and others from the party’s center-left wing. But