Voters in Wisconsin and Minnesota Decide Democratic Primaries for Governor and Senate

01:51 03:43 02:01 05:31 01:57 01:18 01:30 52:05 26:50 20 Minutes with AFP Published on 08/12/2026 at 02:27 • Updated on 08/12/2026 at 07:39 The essentials Less than three months before the midterms, the divisions of the Democratic Party play out at the polls this Tuesday. In Minnesota and Wisconsin, several primaries pit moderate candidates backed by the establishment against representatives of the progressive wing, with a backdrop of seeking a strategy to oppose Donald Trump and the Republicans in November. In Minnesota, Angie Craig and Peggy Flanagan are contesting the Democratic nomination for a seat in the Senate. A 54-year-old moderate congresswoman, Angie Craig notably has the support of Hakeem Jeffries and several millions of dollars from political action committees (PACs). Peggy Flanagan, 46, the lieutenant governor supported by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, for her part refuses money from these private committees. “Special interests think they can buy this Senate seat. They have spent $20 million in that direction,” she denounced on social media. Despite their differences over campaign financing, the two candidates emphasize several common priorities, including the cost of living amid persistent inflation, government corruption, and immigration enforcement politics. Minnesota had been an early focal point of protests against these anti-immigrant policies, notably after the death in Minneapolis of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two American protesters shot to death by ICE agents. Opinion polls do not reveal a clear favorite, and the winner should face Republican Michele Tafoya, a former sports journalist, in November. In Wisconsin, the Democratic primary for the governor’s office also pits the party’s progressive and moderate wings against one another. Francesca Hong, 37, a local legislator and daughter of South Korean immigrants, represents the left and is a polling favorite. Her campaign, however, has been marked by criticism over old statements in which she called to withdraw police funding and stated that she hated Thanksgiving. She has since walked back those remarks. Her opponent, David Crowley, 40, is supported by current Governor Tony Evers and highlights his experience leading Milwaukee County, the most populous in the state. Republicans believe a Francesca Hong victory could help their bid to reclaim the governor’s office in this swing state. Polls close in Minnesota and Wisconsin on Tuesday at 8:00 PM local time, i.e., 1:00 AM Wednesday (GMT). Another primary is also taking place this Tuesday in South Carolina, this time among Republicans, to designate their candidate for a Senate seat following Lindsey Graham’s death. Darline Graham, the senator’s sister and expected replacement after his death, is the favorite to obtain the nomination with Donald Trump’s backing, but she may have to go through a runoff at the end of August. To read as well 01:01 01:01 03:43 03:43 02:01 02:01 01:51 01:51 01:51 01:51 01:35 01:35 01:03 01:03 01:14 01:14 01:23 01:23 03:43 03:43 02:01 02:01 07:21 07:21 03:17 03:17

Voters in six states on Tuesday decided which candidates will face off in November in House and Senate races that could determine whether the balance of power will shift in the next Congress. In Wisconsin, the storyline about the democratic socialists challenging the Democratic establishment continued to play out in the governor's race, where centrist Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley was locked in a tight race with democratic socialist state Rep. Francesca Hong as the last votes were being counted early Wednesday morning. And in Connecticut, 14-term Rep. John Larson became the seventh House Democrat incumbent to lose a primary during this election cycle. Here's a look at Tuesday's primaries: Wisconsin Republican and Democratic candidates in Wisconsin are vying to win the first open gubernatorial seat since 2010, replacing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who announced last year that he wouldn't run for reelection. There are also primaries in both parties that could have an impact on which controls the House next year. Connecticut Incumbent Democratic Rep. John Larson will lose the Democratic primary for his 1st Congressional District seat to challenger Luke Bronin, the former mayor of Hartford, ABC News projects. Larson has held his seat since 1999. Larson is the seventh incumbent House Democrat to lose in primaries this year. And Gov. Ned Lamont, who was elected in 2018, will fend off a primary challenge from Josh Elliott, ABC News projects. He'll face Republican Ryan Fazio in November. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar will win the Democratic governor primary, ABC News projects, in the race to replace Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who is retiring. She will face state House Speaker Lisa Demuth, who ABC projects will win the Republican governor's primary, in November. ABC News also projects Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan will win the Democratic primary in the race to replace Democratic Sen. Tina Smith, who is also retiring. She'll face former NFL sideline reporter Michelle Tafoya, who ABC projects will win the Republican primary for Senate. Minnesota also voted in primaries for several House races that could help determine the balance of power in Congress. South Carolina Darline Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham who was appointed to fill the remainder of her brother's term, will face Rep. Ralph Norman in an Aug. 25 runoff to replace Lindsey Graham on the November ballot, ABC News projects. Lindsey Graham's death in July sparked a rapid-fire campaign season. Eight other candidates besides Graham and Norman were running for the seat. Vermont Economist Amanda Janoo will win the Democratic primary for governor, ABC News projects, and will face incumbent Republican Gov. Phil Scott in the general election in November. Alabama In Alabama, some voters decided several House races following the Supreme Court decision that limited portions of the Voting Rights Act and led several states in the South to take part in mid-decade redistricting. Primaries were held in May, but Republican Gov. Kay Ivey pushed back those in the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th districts that were impacted by redistricting after the Supreme Court decision.

Polls closed in six states on Tuesday, with the unpredictable Democratic primaries in Wisconsin and Minnesota coming to a close as South Carolina Republicans choose a successor for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham's seat. In Wisconsin, the democratic socialist Francesca Hong and the more moderate David Crowley are duking it out for the Democratic nomination in the governor's race after two other candidates dropped out of the contest. President Trump's ally, Rep. Tom Tiffany, is all but certain to win the GOP nomination. With Minnesota Democratic Sen. Tina Smith not running for reelection, are fighting for the Democratic nomination for Senate in another proxy battle between two different factions of the party.CBS News Tuesday that Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is opting to run for governor, easily won the Democratic primary to replace Gov. Tim Walz, who is not running for reelection.On the ballot for the Republican nomination for the Minnesota Senate seat, Michele Tafoya, a former sportscaster, is considered the frontrunner against Adam Schwarze, a retired Navy SEAL, and Royce White, a former professional basketball player who was the 2024 GOP candidate. In the governor's race, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth and businessman Kendall Qualls are the major contenders for the GOP nomination. And in South Carolina, the sprint to Tuesday's special primary election to replace Graham on the ticket comes to a head. Graham's sister, Sen. Darline Graham, has been appointed to fill out the remainder of his term and is facing off against nine primary challengers for a spot on the ballot in November. Here are the major races to watch today: South Carolina Ten Republicans are facing off in South Carolina on Tuesday in a special primary election to represent the party on the ballot in November, after Lindsey Graham's last month.No candidate was on track to secure a majority of the vote Tuesday, sending the race to a runoff later this month between the late senator's sister, Darline Graham, and a yet-to-be-determined second candidate, .Lindsey Graham, a four-term senator, had secured the GOP nomination in June in his bid for six more years representing South Carolina. After his death, his sister was appointed to serve until January. And days after she was sworn into office, she announced that she was running for a full term representing the Palmetto State — with . But the president's endorsement of Darline Graham didn't prevent a slew of Republicans from jumping into the race. Reps. Russell Fry and Ralph Norman are also seeking the nomination, along with former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and businessman Mark Lynch, who lost the June primary to the late senator. Wisconsin governor's race Mr. Trump won perennial swing state Wisconsin in 2024 by less than a point, and the state is one of only two in the country with one Republican senator and one Democratic senator. (In Maine, independent Sen. Angus King caucuses with Democrats, while the state's other senator is GOP Sen. Susan Collins.) But the Midwestern state's Democratic primary for governor has turned into a battle between the party's progressive and moderate factions. The two leading candidates are state lawmaker and former chef Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist, and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, a moderate backed by outgoing two-term Gov. Tony Evers. It was initially a far more crowded contest. Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who lost the 2022 Senate race against Sen. Ron Johnson by one point, initially threw his hat in the ring, along with Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Crowley and Hong. The race started to take a completely different shape in July, when Crowley dropped his bid and threw his support behind Rodriguez, who was considered more of an establishment candidate. But Rodriguez dropped out days later after discovering her campaign had less money in the bank than previously believed. Although Barnes had pulled out a surprise victory in the 2022 Senate primary as a progressive candidate and won statewide as the state's first Black lieutenant governor in 2018, Hong had risen to be the frontrunner. With Wisconsin voters facing those hard-left choices on the ballot, Crowley then announced he would return to the campaign trail as a centrist Democrat. Crowley said in a debate last month that he initially made the decision to drop out based on data, but "we were going off false data," prompting him to return to the race. Barnes then announced on July 30 — less than two weeks before the primary — that he would be dropping his bid, saying, "it's becoming very clear who the Democratic nominee is going to be," pointing to Hong. Barnes' announcement came as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel was investigating allegations that he was taking advantage of his role in the party to have sexual encounters with young adult women. Barnes has not addressed the allegations and has not been accused of any crimes. Barnes' and Rodriguez's names remain on the ballot due to their late withdrawals from the race. The rise of Hong, who had the backing of the Wisconsin chapters of the Democratic Socialists of America, comes a year after progressive Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayor's race and several other DSA members and those aligned with the organization have notched victories in primaries this year. But some of Hong's social media comments from 2019 to 2021 have also come to light: She called for defunding the police and abolishing ICE and the U.S. Senate, disparaged that there were "too many old white people who didn't think we spoke English" at a rural location of the Wisconsin favorite Culver's and called to "cancel Thanksgiving." Hong has disavowed some of these comments, and told Politico last week that Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday. If Hong wins on Tuesday night, her campaign staff is planning a staff overhaul that would bring in more experienced campaign operatives — particularly in the areas of communications and rapid response — following a turbulent close to her primary campaign, two Democratic sources with knowledge of the planning told CBS News. Tiffany, the GOP candidate, does not face any significant primary challengers. Tiffany is a member of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, and has been one of Mr. Trump's allies in denying the outcome of the 2020 election. Wisconsin House races Wisconsin has eight congressional districts, with two Democrats and six Republicans representing the state in the House. Democrats have been focused on flipping two of those GOP-held seats. Wisconsin's 3rd District, located in a rural part of the state heavily affected by Mr. Trump's agriculture and tariff policies, is represented by Rep. Derrick Van Orden, an ally of Mr. Trump's. Van Orden defeated Democrat Rebecca Cooke by 11,000 votes in 2024. The district is considered a toss-up by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, and the Democrats' House campaign arm has prioritized the district in its Red to Blue program. Cooke is running again for the Democratic nomination, and this time has the backing of the Democrats' House campaign arm. Cooke, who has worked as a political consultant, faces Eau Claire City Council member Emily Berge. Democrats are also targeting Wisconsin's 1st District, the district once represented by former House Speaker Paul Ryan and represented by Rep. Bryan Steil since 2018, although the district is considered Likely Republican by Sabato's Crystal Ball and would likely be a reach for any Democrat. Three Democrats — Mitchell Berman, Lorenzo Santos and Miguel Aranda — are running to take on Steil, who won reelection by nine points in 2024 and has $6 million cash on hand. With Tiffany running for governor, his seat in the 7th District, a safe Republican seat, is now open. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's son-in-law Michael Alfonso is considered the frontrunner for the seat and has the backing of Mr. Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson. He faces four GOP challengers. Minnesota Senate race Minnesota was ground zero for the Trump administration's immigration policies earlier this year, drawing national scrutiny after the fatal shootings of two American citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis. And the issue is front and center in this year's primaries as candidates eye the Democratic and Republican nomination for an open Senate seat. On the Democratic side, a dynamic familiar to the 2026 midterms is playing out between Rep. Angie Craig, a centrist candidate backed by a slew of national Democrats, and Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a progressive endorsed by the likes of Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Amid the debate over immigration enforcement, Craig has faced criticism over her previous stances, including her vote last year for the , while Flanagan has been unequivocal in her opposition to the administration's immigration policies. But Craig's supporters have argued that the four-term congresswoman is the more electable candidate, especially as Flanagan has been tied to the Minnesota governor's handling of the multimillion-dollar fraud schemes in the state.On the GOP side, among those vying to be the Republican nominee are Michele Tafoya, a former sports broadcaster, former basketball player Royce White and Adam Schwarze, a retired Navy SEAL. And although Minnesota hasn't elected a Republican to the Senate since 2002, the GOP is hoping to make inroads as it seeks to hold on to control of the chamber next year, seeing some opportunity in a state that former Vice President Kamala Harris won by just four points in 2024. Minnesota House races Rep. occupies a safe Democratic district in Minneapolis, where the winner is favored to win in November. Omar was first elected in 2018 in an open election, but she has faced centrist opposition in primaries since then.In this year's contest, she faces four primary challengers, but she is expected to win the nomination again. Alabama House races After the Supreme Court ruling in May that narrowed Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which required majority Black districts in some states, Alabama postponed its House primaries until Aug. 11 so state lawmakers could redraw the districts. Alabama is currently represented by two Democrats and five Republicans, and Republicans redrew their maps to make the 2nd District friendlier to Republicans, endangering Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures, who won the seat in 2024. Sabato's Crystal Ball now considers the seat likely Republican. Rhett Marques is the frontrunner in the GOP primary for that seat, with the backing of Mr. Trump, Alabama Sen. Katie Britt and House GOP leadership. Marques is facing five challengers on Tuesday. Connecticut Democratic Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont will run for reelection against Republican challenger Ryan Fazio, after Lamont defeated a rare primary challenge from state Rep. Josh Elliott, CBS News has projected. A poll from Sacred Heart University and CT Insider taken last month showed Lamont leading Fazio by 20 points in a general election. Rep. John Larson of the 1st District is also facing primary challengers for the first time since he was elected in 1998. Larson and his three challengers — former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, West Hartford state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest and Hartford Board of Education member Ruth Fortune — agree on key policy issues, but the race has focused on generational change. Bronin, Larson's most well-known and best-funded opponent, has zeroed in on Larson's age — 78 — and long tenure in Congress. Vermont Two Democrats are vying to take on Vermont's Republican Gov. Phil Scott in November: Amanda Janoo and Aly Richards. Scott is running for a sixth term, but a University of New Hampshire poll from July found that he has his lowest approval rating since April 2022. Neither Janoo nor Richards has held elected office before, making a November challenge difficult. In Vermont's at-large congressional district, Gerald Malloy won the GOP primary to take on incumbent Democratic Rep. Becca Balint, the AP has projected. But the same July UNH poll found Malloy would trail Balint in a general election matchup.

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 succeed 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. In Minnesota, progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and moderate Democratic Rep. Angie Craig are in a tight race for the nomination to succeed the retiring Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn. Flanagan, who is the No. 2 official in the state behind retiring Gov. Tim Walz, is running a progressive campaign and has been endorsed by Smith and top lawmakers on the left such as Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. She has also nabbed the endorsement of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party — the official state Democratic Party — but unlike Hong, is not backed by the Twin Cities DSA chapter. She's pushing for a universal healthcare plan known as Medicare for All, wants to dismantle Immigration and Customs Enforcement and seeks to halt offensive weapons sales to Israel. Support for Israel has become a flashpoint for Democrats in primary contests as many on the left recoil from the Jewish state's conduct during the war in Gaza that was launched in response to Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Flanagan has called Israel's actions a "genocide." Flanagan, however, has caught some flak for her proximity to Walz and the cascading social services fraud scandal that prompted the 2024 vice presidential candidate to abandon his reelection bid. Flanagan has expressed regret that the administration did not act faster, but has defended the governor's response and subsequent crackdown on fraud. President Donald Trump and his Republican allies earlier this year seized on the fraud claims, some of which are years old, to launch an immigration crackdown and pause some Medicaid funding in Minnesota. Craig, in a debate with Flanagan, said "Republicans are going to have a field day with you" over her connection to the fraud scandal. Craig, meanwhile, is a moderate who flipped a Republican-held seat in 2018. She leapfrogged to the top minority slot on the House Agriculture Committee in this Congress, defeating several more senior candidates to secure the spot. She contends that her ability to win a purple district makes her the best candidate against a Republican in what's expected to be a tight election. Craig has scored endorsements from House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. While Craig does not support Medicare for All, she has introduced a bill to create a government-run healthcare plan known as a public option or Medicare for all who want it. Craig also supports the traditional U.S.-Israel relationship, voting against an amendment last month that sought to strip U.S. aid to Israel while expressing her dissatisfaction with current Israeli leadership. Craig has been criticized, however, for being the only Minnesota Democrat to vote for the Laken Riley Act. That bill required ICE to detain undocumented immigrants who are arrested or face charges or who have been convicted of burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, assault of a law enforcement officer or any crime that results in death or serious bodily injury. Immigration enforcement is a key issue in Minnesota after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in the state during the immigration crackdown earlier this year. Craig has since backtracked on her support of that bill, saying she regrets it in an op-ed in the Minnesota Star Tribune and calling it "the wrong decision" in a debate with Flanagan last month. Flanagan has pounced on Craig for the vote. "Voting three days into the second Trump administration for Donald Trump's immigration bill that allowed him to terrorize our communities, the loss of life, the economic impact, the trauma, it's horrific," Flanagan said of Craig's vote during the debate. Tuesday's Democratic winner is expected to face Republican Michele Tafoya in the general election. Tafoya, a former sports broadcaster, is leading by a wide margin in public polls. Minnesota will also host a governor's primary on Tuesday, which will likely determine who Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., will face in the general election. The Republican field includes MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and Minnesota House member Lisa Demuth. Correction: Tuesday's Democratic winner is expected to face Republican Michele Tafoya in the general election. An earlier version misspelled her name.

Voters from the United States Democratic Party head to the polls this Tuesday for primaries in several states that once again measure the balance of power between the centrist faction, backed by the party apparatus, and the left wing. As November’s midterm elections approach, this internal clash—repeating across the country—will help define the course of a party that is seeking the best way to oppose Republican President Donald Trump. The most closely watched duels unfold in Minnesota and Wisconsin. In Minnesota, a traditionally Democratic state with six million residents, two candidates with very different profiles seek the nomination to succeed retiring Senator Tina Smith. Progressive Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, 46, has the support of Smith and left-leaning figures such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Her rival, moderate Congresswoman Angie Craig, 54, receives the backing of party leaders, including Hakeem Jeffries. Minnesota was early this year the epicenter of protests against Trump’s anti-immigrant policies, especially after the death in Minneapolis of protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents. Polls do not show a clear favorite. The winner will face in November Republican Michele Tafoya, a former sports journalist. Candidates in Wisconsin: In neighboring Wisconsin, Democrats will choose their gubernatorial candidate. Francesca Hong, 37-year-old state legislator and daughter of South Korean immigrants, embodies the left and leads polls. She faces David Crowley, a 40-year-old African American and executive of Milwaukee County, the main moderate alternative. Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a star among progressives, have chosen to stay out of the contest. Republicans believe a Hong victory would facilitate the recovery of the Wisconsin governorship, a swing state hotly contested by both parties. Trump has recently intensified attacks on leftist Democratic candidates and presents November’s elections as a choice between Republican “common sense” and what he calls socialist or communist extremism. Separately, South Carolina holds a Republican primary to choose a Senate candidate after the death of Lindsey Graham. Darline Graham, the senator’s sister who succeeded him, starts as favorite thanks to Trump’s support, though she could face a runoff in late August.

CONNECTICUT - Two veteran Democratic incumbents in Connecticut face strong challenges in a state primary on Tuesday. What's on the ballot? What we know: The contests take place as elements within the party look to redefine the Democratic brand ahead of the midterm elections by replacing old guard figures with younger and often more progressive alternatives. Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont is running for a third term but must first clear a challenge from state Rep. Josh Elliott. Both candidates have raised just shy of $400,000 in contributions from individual donors. Nonetheless, Lamont, a wealthy former cable entrepreneur, has far outspent Elliott, thanks to $9.5 million in personal funds he’s invested in his campaign. Elliott has received about $3.8 million from the state’s public election funding program. Manchester, Ct. April 02, 2026 Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont speaks during a press conference April 02, 2026 at Manchester Head Start in Manchester, Ct. after Governor Lamont announced continued investments to strengthen the state's Head Start on H The Democratic nominee will face Republican state Sen. Ryan Fazio in November. Republicans last controlled the governorship from 1995 to 2011. Lamont was first elected in 2018 with 49% of the vote and reelected in 2022 with 56%. In the 1st Congressional District, longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. John Larson is running for a 15th term. Challenging him for the nomination are former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, Hartford Board of Education member Ruth Fortune and state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest. HAMDEN, CT - NOVEMBER 24: State Rep. Josh Elliott, D-Hamden, is planning a primary campaign against Gov. Ned Lamont. (Ken Dixon/Connecticut Post via Getty Images) This year marks Larson’s first primary challenge since he was first elected in 1998. He won a close primary that year with 46% of the vote but has not appeared on a primary ballot in his subsequent 13 reelection bids. Bronin has slightly outraised and outspent Larson in the campaign overall, although Larson had a slight edge in terms of available cash heading into the primary campaign’s final three weeks. Gilchrest and Fortune trailed far behind in fundraising. Larson turned 78 in July. In 2025, an incident on the House floor sparked concerns over his health and age when he suffered what he later described as a complex partial seizure while delivering a speech. He said the episode, which caused him to briefly but abruptly stop speaking, was related to a heart condition that he now treats with medication. The district is heavily Democratic. Larson received 63% of the vote in his 2024 reelection campaign. Then-Vice President Kamala Harris received about 61% of the district vote in the presidential race. All 36 state Senate seats and all 151 state House seats are up in 2026. Democrats hold two-to-one majorities in both chambers. Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - As Minnesota’s primary races come to a close, some high-stakes contests are flying under the radar and could shake up the Capitol. Key legislative primaries could unseat incumbents What we know: Eleven current lawmakers are being challenged by members of their own parties, putting their positions at risk in Tuesday’s primary. Alongside the Hennepin County attorney race, these contests could lead to major changes in state leadership. Dr. Larry Jacobs, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota, said, "These are low visibility, almost obscure primaries coming up. They don't get a lot of attention. So in these races, being able to mobilize the activists on the left and the right is a big advantage." Mike Wiener, who recently left the state House, is running against nine-year Senator Paul Utke, (R-Park Rapids), in a campaign that could unseat the incumbent. Wiener secured the party endorsement with 80% of the vote at the convention, compared to Utke’s 20%, signaling strong support from conservative activists. Jacobs said, "So that's a real signal that the challenger has been able to mobilize the activists who are more conservative than the already conservative Utke." Senate District 46 is also in play, with 20-year Senator Ron Latz, (DFL-St. Louis Park), and former St. Louis Park Councilmember Lynette Dumalag both lacking the DFL endorsement. However, Dumalag has backing from both state representatives in the district. Primary turnout in Minnesota is typically low, rarely topping 20%, compared to 76% in the 2024 general election. This makes the ability to motivate party activists especially important. The Hennepin County attorney race heats up Why you should care: The Hennepin County attorney race is nonpartisan, with the top two primary finishers advancing to November. Name recognition and visibility are expected to determine who moves forward. Jacobs believes state Rep. Cedrick Frazier has an advantage due to his higher profile. Diane Frenz, Hao Nguyen, Matt Pelikan, and Anders Folk are also in the running for a spot in the general election. "There's no doubt Folk is a strong candidate. His challenge, though, is ask your neighbors if they've heard of him," said Jacobs. A primary win does not guarantee victory in November, but both highlighted senate races are expected to be less competitive in the general election than they are in the primary. What we don't know: It remains unclear how many voters will turn out for these low-visibility primaries and whether incumbents will be able to hold off challengers energized by party activists. The Source: FOX 9’s Corin Hoggard reported live from the Capitol and spoke with Dr. Larry Jacobs for this story.

USA ELECTIONS Washington - Alabama, Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, South Carolina and Wisconsin hold primaries to select candidates for November Congressional elections. Washington - The Republican Party holds primaries in South Carolina to replace the deceased Senator Lindsey Graham, and his sister Darline Graham, who succeeds him with the support of President Donald Trump, seeks the nomination for a full six-year Senate term. ADVERTISEMENT Washington - Socialist Francesca Hong faces moderate David Crowley in the Democratic primaries for Wisconsin governor. Miami - Voters in Alabama go to the polls this Tuesday for special congressional primaries in four districts that will test the state’s new electoral map, which expanded Republican-leaning districts from five to six and reduced Democrats from two to one. ADVERTISEMENT Miami - Republican Congressman Byron Donalds, backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, and former congressman David Jolly, now a Democrat, lead preferences ahead of their parties’ primaries next week to succeed Governor Ron DeSantis in Florida on November 3 in the general election. (photo) PUERTO RICO DROUGHT San Juan - Hydrometeorologist Emanuel Rodríguez of the National Weather Service (NWS) in San Juan warns that drought conditions and water rationing affecting more than half a million people in Puerto Rico could last until the end of the year if a tropical storm does not approach. ADVERTISEMENT (photo) (video) NEWS AGENDA Washington - USA VENEZUELA - United Airlines resumes direct flights between Houston and Caracas after an eight-year suspension. New York - LUIGI MANGIONE - Hearing in New York on the case of Luigi Mangione, accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Washington - USA INDEPENDENCE - President Donald Trump attends the Patriotic Games final in Ohio, a youth sports competition held on the occasion of the country’s 250th anniversary of independence. EFE News Latino You can write to [email protected] and [email protected] to contact our newsroom. At www.efeservicios.com you will find all multimedia production of Agencia EFE and its World Agenda, an updated listing of scheduled informational events. For any other product or service, contact [email protected] or call +34 91 3467245

Voters in six states, including Wisconsin, Minnesota, and South Carolina, are going to the polls this Tuesday to participate in primaries ahead of the midterm elections. The Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor is the one that has the most media and political world attention. It features, notably, a candidate backed by the Democratic establishment and a socialist candidate on whom the Republicans have spent nearly $3.6 million. Pardon? Indeed, the Republican Governors Association Super PAC used that money to fund ads that promoted Francesca Hong, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, while pretending to criticize her. In the video below, for example, Hong can be seen and heard telling left-wing influencer Hasan Piker that "we are the campaign that will really return to our progressive roots." The ad specifies that Hong opposes expulsions by the Trump administration, advocates abolishing ICE, and wants to end the Wisconsin law‑enforcement collaboration with federal authorities. It concludes that Hong is too “liberal” for Wisconsin. Elected to the Wisconsin Assembly in 2020, this daughter of South Korean immigrants who was born 37 years ago in Wisconsin is a former head chef and restaurant owner. But the Republican ad and others like it have achieved their objective, namely to raise Hong’s profile across Wisconsin and set her apart from her rival, David Crowley, a technocrat who has the backing of the outgoing Democratic Governor Tony Evers. Polls show Hong leading among Democrats, even though many independents remain, and the socialist candidate has shown a lack of poise or judgment in recent days as she has tried to explain to the media her past tweets advocating police abolition and canceling Thanksgiving. Clearly, the Republicans believe Hong is the ideal opponent for their party’s probable candidate for Wisconsin governor, Tom Tiffany. He refused in 2020 to certify the presidential election results to the House of Representatives. A Trumpist of his kind is far from unbeatable, even against Hong. The stakes of this race go well beyond Wisconsin’s borders, a swing state where elections have been decided by a razor-thin margin for several years. In 2028, the Wisconsin governor could be called to play a decisive role in certifying the presidential results in this state. (Photo AP)

American Democratic voters and their party leaders should not suppress their pleasure. The Tuesday primaries on August 4 surprised many, with the victory of self-described “socialist” candidates ahead of the November midterm elections. In particular, the victory of Muslim Abdul El-Sayed for a Senate seat in Michigan generated a lot of ink, especially among the timid and the Republicans. The timid among the Democrats fear that all these “leftists” will make them lose both chambers, while the Republicans welcome these victories as a godsend in their ideological struggle against the “communists.” Both are wrong. The United States is changing, and left- and right-wing “insurgents” are seen as disruptors of a system that has long been ossified. They respond to a popular demand that no one can ignore anymore. Among the Democrats, since they were the ones on the field recently, the insurgents did not wait for the socialist Zohran Mamdani to be elected mayor of New York to make themselves known. They began to stir as early as 1981 with the emergence of Bernie Sanders, elected independent mayor of Burlington, Vermont, and presenting himself as a socialist. For a long time, Sanders seemed like a political curiosity, if not a tourist. When he was elected as an independent to the House of Representatives in 1990, he shattered the glass ceiling of an extremely constraining bipartite system while voting with the Democrats. Sixteen years later, he became the first openly socialist senator. He began to win followers. In 2018, three women — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar —, who are very active with the Democratic Socialists of America, were elected to the House and continue to give Republicans a headache. These electoral successes encouraged progressives. In New York, the 2025 municipal elections saw the triumph of a young Muslim-identified activist born in Uganda, Zohran Mamdani. He managed to turn his election into a triumph. Never in 50 years had a municipal election attracted so many voters. Mamdani focused on substantive issues. He campaigned on a progressive platform centered on accessibility, supporting free city bus service, deployment of a universal network of child care, opening city-owned grocery stores, freezing rents for stabilized housing, creating more affordable housing, and establishing a minimum hourly wage of $30 by 2030. He also showed his support for LGBTQ+ rights, for a complete reform of public safety, and for tax increases for businesses and those earning more than a million per year. Mamdani thus contradicted candidates with colossal campaign budgets, who could see that advertising spending does not guarantee victory. Those who win today are the ones who mobilize voters, not just those who raise funds. After Mamdani’s election, three progressive candidates unseated moderate Democrats in primaries in New York in June. The upheaval of the Democratic establishment’s citadels did not affect only New York. Moderates were also defeated in Maine, Colorado, and Michigan. More surprises are expected in the coming days in Alaska, South Carolina, Minnesota, Florida, and Wisconsin during primaries for the House, the Senate, or the governorship. Abdul El-Sayed’s victory is revealing of the atmosphere in the United States. He pulled off the surprise by defeating Haley Stevens — a candidate backed by powerful financial interests — with a campaign built on personal contact and a populist message focused on the economy. El-Sayed notably won by denouncing the $62 million in external funds granted to support Stevens’ campaign as proof of political corruption, an argument that galvanized the Democratic base. His army of 12,000 volunteers propelled a campaign that pushed his position — once considered explosive — denouncing the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), an organization that promotes the interests of a foreign power and that spent $30 million to defeat him. AIPAC did not understand that intimidation no longer works. The left’s victories do not please all Democrats. Yet, as one commentator said, we must get used to it, because “the left-wing insurgency is here to stay.” It could mobilize the Democratic electorate ahead of the 2028 presidential election. After all, the right-wing insurgency did propel Trump to the presidency twice. This text is part of our Opinion section. It is an editorial and, as such, reflects the values and position of Le Devoir as defined by its editor-in-chief in collegial agreement with the editorial team.

By Nicholas Riccardi and Tom Beaumont — The Associated Press The latest battle over the Democratic Party’s ideological divide this year shifts Tuesday to the upper Midwest, where governor primaries in Wisconsin and U.S. Senate primaries in Minnesota pit left-wing candidates against more traditional rivals. In Wisconsin, state Assemblywoman Francesca Hong, who self-identifies as a democratic socialist, is the favorite for the party’s nomination for governor in a battleground state where winning that contest is crucial to Democrats’ hopes for 2028 and beyond. In Minnesota, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan is competing for the nomination for a vacant Senate seat against centrist Democrat Angie Craig. The left versus center theme is evident in Democratic primaries across several Tuesday-voting states, with other high-profile contests in places like Alabama and South Carolina. Here’s what to watch Tuesday night. Will the left keep advancing in swing states? Left-wing candidates have repeatedly won primaries, tapping into Democratic voters’ frustration with party leadership. Most victories occurred in traditionally liberal urban areas, from New York City to Denver. But last week, progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed opened new ground by winning the party nomination for a close Senate race in the swing state of Michigan. Now Hong and, to a lesser extent, Flanagan are trying to win even more “purple” terrain for the left. President Donald Trump won Wisconsin in 2024, and its state legislature has long been in Republican hands, but Democrats remain optimistic about reversing that trend. Hong has maintained a steady lead in public polls over Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, despite the backing she has from the state’s current governor, Democrat Tony Evers. Hong is also aided by multiple more traditional candidates on the ballot who will split the votes against her, including former Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, who dropped out of the race late last month. Hong has a record of controversial statements, including his (her) open support for defunding the police in 2020, a stance she has since distanced herself from. Prominent Democratic strategists fear she could win the primaries by appealing to the party base, but that she could pose a risk in the general election. The Democratic primary winner will face Republican Representative Tom Tiffany in November. There is a lot at stake in this race for Democrats nationwide, not just for Wisconsin residents. They hope to seize control of the state legislature, and winning the governor’s race would give them the ability to redraw Wisconsin’s electoral map to counter the Republican advantage gained in this year’s mid-decade redistricting. Without it, their path to a House majority in 2028 becomes difficult. Democrats will likely also need to win in Wisconsin to reclaim the White House in 2028, and the governor will play a key role in certifying the election winner. In 2020, Trump tried to claim victory in Wisconsin despite Joe Biden’s win there, but Evers blocked him in part. Tiffany, who has Trump’s backing, supported the president’s attempt to overturn the election results. Democrats have won consistently in Minnesota during the Trump years, but margins have grown slimmer, and Republicans believe they have a shot at the open Senate seat given the primaries in that state. Craig represents a swing district and has taken more moderate positions, while Flanagan has harshly criticized her for backing Democratic Party leadership and for appearing overly accommodating toward Trump, particularly on immigration. Lamont rose as an insurgent. He is now part of the ruling elite When longtime Democrats worried about left-wing insurgents a generation ago, it was Ned Lamont, the current governor of Connecticut, who concerned them. Lamont, a wealthy former businessman, was a little-known Greenwich councilman when he ran in the 2006 primaries against the state’s veteran senator, Joe Lieberman. Lamont argued that Lieberman, a centrist who had been the party’s vice presidential nominee in 2000, was not loyal enough to the Democratic Party and leaned too far to the right. Lamont won that primary, but Lieberman ran in the general election as an independent and kept his Senate seat. Lamont continued to run for public office and was finally elected governor in 2018. Now, at 72, he faces a left-wing challenge from state Representative Josh Elliott, age 41, who contends that the governor has not fought aggressively enough against Trump and that this solidly Democratic state deserves something better than Lamont’s moderate tax-and-spend approach. For months, Lamont largely ignored Elliott and focused on polishing his own image. But, signaling the race may be tightening, he has begun airing ads against his rival. A headline branded as too old and tied to big capital Also in Connecticut, Representative John Larson faces his first primary challenge after 14 terms in the House from former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin. The race follows a familiar pattern, as Bronin, 47, argues that Larson, 78, is too old and too closely tied to big donors. Larson maintains that his experience and seniority position him best to serve his constituents. There is also a growing list of longtime Democrats being challenged by younger contenders. Will another name join them Tuesday night? In a Wisconsin State Assembly district, a rematch is on the horizon Voters in a western Wisconsin swing district are expected to nominate Rebecca Cooke again to face Republican incumbent Derek Van Orden, who is in his second term, in Wisconsin’s 3rd District, setting up a rematch for one of the chamber’s most hotly contested seats. In 2024, Cooke, a nonprofit executive and small-business owner from Eau Claire, narrowly lost to Van Orden, who was elected in 2022 and has been a fervent Trump supporter. The district is a mix of Wisconsin farmlands — where Republicans have improved their performance over the past decade — and small metropolitan areas with state universities, giving Democrats a small but influential foothold. Cooke, from Eau Claire, faces this Tuesday Eau Claire City Council President Emily Berge, but enjoys the institutional backing of the Democratic Party, including the Congressional Campaign Committee. Additionally, Cooke has raised roughly $8.6 million, far surpassing Berge’s roughly $729,000. Van Orden has no challenger in Tuesday’s Republican primaries. In South Carolina, it’s a familiar name against experience For a state expected to have few surprises in November, South Carolina once again sits in the spotlight, this time with primaries to nominate candidates for a special Senate election. South Carolinians voted on June 9 to choose candidates for state offices and then cast their votes in the June 23 runoff for races where no candidate reached 50%. There were several of these, including Republican nominations for governor and for several congressional seats. The death of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on July 11, at 71, from a ruptured aorta, left South Carolina voters still undecided about who would appear on the November ballot. On Tuesday, they will decide who will succeed Graham — who served four terms — as the Republican candidate in this southern state, where the Republican Party has a strong presence. They will have to choose between Graham’s sister, Darline — appointed by Governor Henry McMaster to fill the vacancy and backed by Trump — as well as federal lawmakers Russell Fry and Ralph Norman, former legislator Mark Sanford, and six other candidates. If no one reaches 50% on Tuesday, there will be another runoff on August 25.

by The Hill Staff08/11/26 07:23 PM ET It’s abig day for votersin several states on Tuesday, with closely watched primaries in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Connecticut and Vermont, as well as House primaries in Alabama. South Carolina Republicans also head to the polls to see who will replace the late Sen. Lindsey Graham on the ballot in November. There are 10 candidates running in the special election, including his sister, Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.), who has filled the seat until the end of the term in January, Reps. Ralph Norman and Russell Fry (R-S.C.), former Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) and businessman Mark Lynch. Polls closed at 7 p.m. EDT. President Trump is in Geneva, Ohio, for thePatriot Games finale, a national athletic competition for high schoolers in honor of America’s 250th. Earlier Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said theStrait of Hormuzwon’t be reopened until the U.S. meets its conditions, after Trump said hewants compensationfrom Iran “for all of the people that they have killed” in the past. He told reporters that Iran has “astonished the whole world” in the war against the United States and Israel, proving “that it is a tough and invincible power,” The Associated Press reported. Meanwhile, the U.S. militaryfired ona Panama-flagged cargo ship that a U.S. official told the Wall Street Journal was trying to run the American blockade of the waterway. Amid this, reports late Monday detailed how Trumpevadeda potential threat from Iran while departing Turkey last month. According to the Washington Post, the presidentsecretly traveledin an unmarked military plane to the U.K. The White House did not directly address the issue when asked. Follow live below. Republican Rhett Marques is projected to win the GOP nomination to take on Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures in Alabama’s redrawn 2nd Congressional District, according to Decision Desk HQ. In June, the Supreme CourtallowedAlabama Republicans to reinstate a 2023 map that removes the majority-black Montgomery-area district, lesening Figures chances of hanging on to the seat in November. The new map runs from the Georgia state line to the Mississippi border in a district that the non-partisan Cook Political Report ranks as “likely” to flip to the GOP this fall. Figures has decried the Supreme Court ruling, but has opted to stay in race. Hampton Harris, a small business owner, won the initial Republican primary in May. Figures ran unopposed in both contests. A federal judge on Tuesdayagain blockedthe U.S. Postal Service from enforcing an executive order on voting by mail, which directed the agency to only supply mail-in ballots to states that provided the federal government with lists of eligible voters. In June, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled that Trump’s order did not apply in 20-plus Democratic led states — who were plaintiffs in that case. Her <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28549912-league-of-women-voters-of-massachusetts-2026-08-11-memorandum-and-order/?q=that+it+is+now&mode=document#document/p25″>latest ruling, the conclusion of a separate lawsuit by the Massachusetts League of Women Voters, nullified the president’s directive nationwide. Read more here. The race to replace late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on the November ballot is projected to head to an Aug. 25 runoff, according to Decision Desk HQ, with Sen. Darline Graham (R) and Rep. Ralph Norman (R) duking it out for the GOP nomination. Lindsey Graham, 71, died unexpectedly in early July after serving in the Senate for more than two decades. Darline Graham, 62, was appointed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) to fill the vacancy, and she’s now runningfor a full termin the red state seat. But with a crowded field jostling in the fast-tracked special election, no candidate was able to score a majority of the vote and avoid a runoff. Darline Graham was trailing Norman for a full term in an Emerson College Pollingsurveylate last month, with 19 and 22 percent, respectively — well below the halfway point needed to win outright. Rep. Russell Fry (R-S.C.), former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and businessman Mark Lynch are also in the running. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) was projected to win his Democratic primary, according to Decision Desk HQ, fending off a progressive challenger as he seeks a third term in office. Lamont defeated state Rep. Josh Elliott (D) to face state Sen. Ryan Fazio (R) in November. The race marked the first time in 50 years that an incumbent Connecticut governor faced a primary challenge. The Pentagon told Congress this week that the U.S. military’s airstrikes against Houthi militants in Yemen last year resulted in 153 civilians killed and another 243 individuals injured in the Middle Eastern nation. Following Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea early last year, President Trumpauthorized airstrikes against the rebelsin March in an operation dubbed “Operation Rough Rider.”Read more here. Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) is projected to advance in the GOP primary for her late brother Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) spot on the November balllot. Other candidates jockeying for the nod include GOP Reps. Ralph Norman and Russell Fry, as well as former Gov. Mark Sanford (R). Follow Decision Desk HQ’s live results to see who else advances to the Aug. 25 runoff. Read the live results here. Texas Attorney GeneralKen Paxton(R) has intervened in a Dallas County surrogacy case involving an unborn baby with a severe heart defect, seeking to ensure the fetus receives life-saving medical treatment after birth despite objections from his intended parents. The unborn child, who Paxton’s office referred to as “baby Gabriel,” was diagnosed in utero with hypoplastic left heart syndrome — a congenital condition in which the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped and unable to properly pump blood throughout the body. Read more here. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is pulling its support from an Arctic climate and environment report it has helped with in the past. Rick Thoman, lead editor for the 2026 Arctic Report Card, said that participants were informed Monday that they would no longer receiveassistancefrom the government agency. Read more here. The Justice Department (DOJ) deployed staff to monitor polling sites in two of Minnesota’s largest counties during the state’s primary election on Tuesday. Around 20 people from the voting section of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division are participating in this effort at voting centers in Hennepin County and Ramsey County, the DOJ said.Read more here. A Syrian court on Tuesday sentencedousted formerPresidentBashar al-Assadto death in absentia after it convicted him on counts of murder, torture and crimes against humanity before and after the country’s civil war. The sentencing by the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus is the first against al-Assad since the dictator was overthrown in 2024, according to the Syrian state-alignednews outlet, SANA. Read more here. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) lifted the ban on the social media platform TikTok for government devices on Monday, officially ending theyearslong saga. The memo,signed by OMB Secretary Russell Vought Monday, comes after the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counselreleased its own memostating government employees can lawfully download TikTok on government devices following the platforms’ new U.S. venture. Read more here. A group of Democratic state attorneys general is suing the Trump administration to block its attempt to invalidate state requirements that mortgage lenders pay homeowners interest on money deposited into escrow accounts, calling it an “unlawful handout” to big banks. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in a federal court in Oregon on behalf of 10 blue states, challenges two agency rules issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in May stating federal law preempts interest-on-escrow laws in more than a dozen states and two U.S. territories.Read more here. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will travel to Panama on Wednesday where he will meet with the country’s President José Raúl Mulino and hold a meeting with Colombian senior officials as the U.S. deepens its defense cooperation with the Central American nation. Hegseth, who visited Panama last year, will deliver remarks at the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition (A3C) Forum, a U.S.-led multinational coalition envisioned to coordinate security and military efforts among member nations to counter transnational criminal organizations, notably drug cartels operating in Central and South America, the Pentagon announced on Tuesday. Read more here. Republican Sen. John Cornyn israising concernsabout the Trump administration’s construction of a border wall through national and state parks in his state. In aletterreleased on Tuesday, Cornyn warned that the border barrier’s construction could disrupt natural beauty, indigenous sites, wildlife and tourism at Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park, both of which are located in Texas. The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced guidelines for employer-sponsored programs for contributions to Trump accounts, a tax-deferred investing option for children. TheTuesday announcementoutlines a process that parents could use to make pre-tax contributions to their child’s Trump account directly from their paychecks with a potential match from employers. Read more here. President Trump on Tuesday went after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s (D) attempt totax second homesworth over $5 million. Trump called the proposed “pied-à-terre” tax a “dangerous political ‘experiment'” in aTuesday Truth Social post. The president’s comments came after a Staten Island, N.Y.,judge temporarily haltedthe tax’s rollout, also ordering New York City to take down a public list of the over 900,000 homes to which it applied. Read more here. Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed once urged government officials to consider defunding the police amid a string of other progressive left-wing policies that he now says are no longer reflective of his political views. Resurfaced videos from a YouTube podcast show El-Sayed suggesting that lawmakers replace the Second Amendment with a constitutional right to healthcare and encouraging the public to rethink the way it celebrates Independence Day in clips that are now deleted. Read more here. The WNBA is finding itself at the center ofescalating culture warsover issues relating to gender, race and equity as the league’s popularity grows and more players become outspoken on politics. Much of the debate, on social media and sports or news talk shows in recent days, revolves around transgender athletes in women’s sports, a topic Sophie Cunningham, a player for the Indiana Fever and teammate of superstar Caitlan Clark, weighed in on last month. Democratic socialist Francesca Hong delivered her closing pitch to voters on Tuesday, hours before polls close in theWisconsin gubernatorial primary. Hong, who leads the Democratic field in recent polling, said her platform focuses on “solutions for working class people” and will deliver “permanent affordability” in the state. Read more here. President Trump doubled down Tuesday on his support for My Pillow founder Mike Lindell, who is running for governor in Minnesota, hours before primary polls close. “Mike Lindell deserves a BIG WIN IN MINNESOTA today,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Nobody has worked harder, and given up so much, in fighting for free and fair Elections.” “Go out, NOW, and VOTE for Mike Lindell for Governor,” the president continued, adding that Lindell “will not let you down.” Read more here. Hunter Biden,the son of former PresidentJoe Biden,took a swipe atPresident TrumpMonday, describing him as an “existential threat” to the U.S. Duringan interviewwith conservative media personalityTucker Carlson,the former president’s son blamed wealthy tech leaders for the country’s current divide. He said Trump’scordial relationshipswith people like Tesla CEOElon Muskand Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, among others, have enticed tech companies to further his political agenda. Read more here. A former U.S. Marine who spent more than four years imprisoned in Russia has been released on humanitarian grounds and is on his way back to the U.S., the Trump administration announced Tuesday. Robert Gilman, a U.S. citizen who was arrested in Russia in January 2022 and imprisoned for 1,666 days was released after his health deteriorated while in custody and his condition became life-threatening, according to reports from hospital officials received by the U.S. government. Read more here. Former President Obama istaking a digat President Trump’s gold-filled changes to the Oval Office. In a clip releasedMonday promoting his cameo on HBO Max’s “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness,” the 44th president is seen taking a tour of a replica of the Oval Office that was featured on a sketch for the Larry David-starring show. The Strait of Hormuz saw its traffic drop from around 11 vessels a day to 6 over the weekend, asreopening talksbetween the United States and Iran drag on. Trade intelligence company Kplerreported Mondaythat, from Friday to Sunday, a total of 32 ships passed through the strait — 17 of which used Iran’s determined path of transit. Another 10 took a route Kpler listed as “undetermined.” Read more here. Rep.Jasmine Crockett(D-Texas) on Monday called Republicans “very performative,” saying that many GOP lawmakers have distaste for President Trump. “We have, like, our own little back rooms, right? So every once in a while, they will be like, ‘Hey, you can come to our, like, back room?’ You know?’” Crockettsaid onABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Monday, describing House Republicans. “So, they’ll invite me for stuff. They also do things like, ‘You want to, like, get into a fight so we can go on Fox News?’ And I’m like, ‘I’ma pass.’” Read more here. Fox News hostTomi Lahrenripped the Republican Party on Monday, arguing the GOP has failed working Americans so badly that socialism has become increasingly appealing to those struggling with the cost of living. “Let’s be frank about it, some Americans are turning to socialism because Republicans have failed us so dismally that even the most destructive economic model imaginable feels palatable to people who are struggling to make ends meet and buy groceries,” Lahren wrote onthe social platform X. Read more here. Iran-backed Houthi rebels have renewed their attacks on the Yemeni government-held city of Mokha, a key port city along the Red Sea, amid their blockade on Saudi exports in response to the Iran war. The attack was preceded by a deadly strike on a vessel off Mokha’s coast in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, killing three Pakistani nationals and one Indonesian national on Tuesday, Yemeni authorities said. Yemen’s Transportation Ministry said three missiles struck the commercial vessel. Read more here. Democratic strategist James Carville said he is backing Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in spite of his criticism of El-Sayed and especially when compared to the Republican in the race. “El-Sayed himself has said the Democrats is as much of a problem as the Republicans, which I disagree with. But when I look at him and I look at Mike Rogers, who’s a lackey for the entire pharmaceutical industry, who’s an election denier, then I’m going to take El-Sayed every time,” Carville told Piers Morgan on his “Piers Morgan Uncensored” show in a clipposted Monday. Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) will face El-Sayed in the November midterm election. “Would I take him in a vacuum? Probably not. But against a clown like Rogers, who is an election denier running for the United States in the year 2026, who has never at once supposed the interest of big pharma? Yeah, I’m gonna be for El-Sayed.” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) on Monday stated that former Vice President Kamala Harris

Election Live Updates: Wisconsin Primary for Governor Too Close to Call Between Moderate and Democratic Socialist David Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive, and Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist who had polled strongly in the race, were locked in a tight race. In Minnesota, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a progressive, won the Democratic Senate primary. Latest Francesca Hong, a state lawmaker and democratic socialist, and David Crowley, a moderate county executive, were locked in an extraordinarily tight race for the Democratic nomination for governor of Wisconsin early Wednesday, a surprisingly close contest that could be a test of progressive power in a vital swing state. Ms. Hong, who energized left-wing voters but worried moderates who feared her chances in November, had been favored in polls leading up to Tuesday, when six states held primaries. Speaking to supporters shortly before midnight local time, Ms. Hong stressed unity. “No matter who’s on this ballot, y’all, we are going to fight to win for one another,” she said. Ms. Hong’s candidacy worried moderate Democrats who feared she could falter in the general election in the purple state. She has come under fire for writing on social media in 2020 that Thanksgiving should be canceled, though she recently walked back the statement. She supports abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and increasing taxes on people who make more than $750,000 per year. Mr. Crowley, meanwhile, received the backing of Gov. Tony Evers. Across the border in Minnesota, the state’s progressive lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanagan, won the Democratic nomination for Senate, notching a victory for the party’s left wing. She will face the sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya, a Republican, in November for the seat held by Senator Tina Smith, a retiring Democrat. “For months now, I’ve been telling you this campaign was about the many versus the money,” Ms. Flanagan, who had been heavily outspent by Representative Angie Craig, told supporters in her victory speech. “Guess what: The many just won.” Four other states held primaries on Tuesday, including South Carolina, where Senator Darline Graham, the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, advanced to a Republican primary runoff against Representative Ralph Norman, a hard-line conservative, to run for a full term. The race was a test of Mr. Trump’s hold on the Republican Party: He had urged Republicans to coalesce behind Ms. Graham, whose brother died a month ago. She is filling her brother’s seat through January and seeking a full six-year term. Her runoff against Mr. Norman, the vice chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, is scheduled for Aug. 25. “I’ve been accused of not being a politician,” Ms. Graham said in a speech in which she spoke of her opposition to abortion and illegal immigration and her embrace of a number of other conservative positions. “Guilty as charged.” Here’s what else is happening: Trump ally falls short: Lisa Demuth, the speaker of the Minnesota House, defeated Mike Lindell, the MyPillow chief executive and a leader of the election denial movement, in the Republican primary for governor, even though Mr. Lindell had Mr. Trump’s endorsement. Senator Amy Klobuchar secured the Democratic nomination to succeed Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat who declined to run for re-election amid a fraud scandal involving the state’s social services programs. Cabinet member’s son-in-law: Michael Alfonso, the 26-year-old, Trump-endorsed son-in-law of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, won the G.O.P. nomination to succeed Representative Tom Tiffany in his Wisconsin district. Mr. Tiffany easily won his party’s nomination for governor. Wisconsin battleground seat: Rebecca Cooke won the Democratic nomination in Wisconsin’s Third Congressional District, where she will challenge Representative Derrick Van Orden, a Republican. The swing district is crucial to her party’s hopes of winning back the House. Generational change in Connecticut: Representative John Larson, a 78-year-old Democrat seeking a 15th term, lost a primary challenge to Luke Bronin, the former mayor of Hartford, at a time when many Democrats are calling for older lawmakers to step aside. Robert Chiarito and Patricia Mazzei contributed reporting. With supporters of David Crowley crowded around a television, expecting an announcement of the results of roughly 20,000 Democratic absentee ballots from Milwaukee, an election official took the microphone. There’s been a glitch in the results because of human error, she said, as the crowd sat in stunned silence. Flash drives holding election results had the required audit information, but not the actual results. The drives will be returned to the central count location to be corrected, then brought back to the Milwaukee County courthouse to announce the results. This will probably delay election night results by at least an hour. Sitting front and center at David Crowley’s watch party is Representative Gwen Moore, a longtime congresswoman and a mentor to generations of Black politicians. Crowley, if he were to win the Democratic primary and be elected in November, would be the state’s first Black governor. - Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times - Sean Rayford for The New York Times - Jenn Ackerman for The New York Times - Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times - Narayan Mahon for The New York Times - Sean Rayford for The New York Times - Jenn Ackerman for The New York Times Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENTFrancesca Hong spoke to her supporters for about seven minutes, describing her candidacy for governor as “the honor of my lifetime.” She did not concede or declare victory, saying that no matter who ultimately won the primary, the state had been changed: “Wisconsin, we have built something that will last forever.” She also implored her supporters to unite against Tom Tiffany, the Republican nominee, in November. “No matter who’s on this ballot, y’all, we are going to fight to win for one another,” she said. In one of the last outstanding batches of results from Wisconsin, Winnebago County just released 7,700 votes that favored Francesca Hong by about nine percentage points. That was significantly better than Hong had been doing in the county, where she had previously led by three percentage points, but she still trails David Crowley statewide. In a victory speech, Peggy Flanagan offered a preview of her general-election message in Minnesota’s Senate race at a time when many voters are worried about the cost of living. She talked about having been raised by a single mother who depended on government programs to put food on the table and to make rent. Medicare, she said “kept me alive” as a child struggling with severe asthma. With her voice breaking, Flanagan recalled how her late mother, Pat, sometimes skipped meals so her daughter could eat. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENTPeggy Flanagan’s supporters erupted in cheers when the candidate appeared onstage at 11 p.m. at a downtown music venue where campaign volunteers and other backers gathered to watch election results. “For months now, I’ve been telling you this campaign was about the many versus the money,” Flanagan said at the start of her victory speech. “Guess what: The many just won.” Flanagan noted that her rival, Representative Angie Craig, had called moments before to concede the race and offer her support in the general election. The roughly 20,000 absentee ballots from the city of Milwaukee that are still outstanding in the Democratic primary for governor will be delivered to and first announced at the Milwaukee County building, just blocks from David Crowley’s watch party in downtown Milwaukee. Those results are expected around 11 p.m. Central time, which for Milwaukee is considerably earlier than in many past elections. Speaking to a small group of supporters in St. Paul, Representative Angie Craig said she had called Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan to concede Minnesota’s Democratic primary for Senate and offer her support. “My top priority is making sure we beat MAGA-Michele Tafoya and hold this Senate seat in November,” Craig said, referring to the Republican nominee. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENTWith a fluctuating and tiny margin separating David Crowley and Francesca Hong in the Democratic primary for governor in Wisconsin, the state’s somewhat strict rules governing recounts could come into play. Changes passed by a Republican-controlled legislature and signed into law by then-Gov. Scott Walker in 2017 set the following rules: A recount can be requested by a losing candidate only if the margin is 1 percentage point or less. If the margin is 0.25 of a percentage point or less, the state will pay for the recount. If the margin is greater, the campaign requesting the recount foots the bill. The changes were made to prevent perceived abuse of the recount system after the 2016 presidential election, when Jill Stein, a Green Party candidate, was granted a recount despite an overwhelming deficit. A mixed picture is forming for progressives in the Midwest. Even as Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist, underperforms expectations in the Wisconsin governor’s race, Peggy Flanagan’s victory in the Democratic Senate race in Minnesota means that progressives will have won in high-profile Senate primaries for two straight weeks. Flanagan’s win came a week after Dr. Abdul El-Sayed won the Senate primary in Michigan. (Both were backed by Bernie Sanders, who did not get involved in the Wisconsin race.) One notable name missing from Peggy Flanagan’s endorsement list: Gov. Tim Walz, with whom she won two statewide races. Their relationship soured after Walz returned home following Kamala Harris’s defeat in 2024. The governor and Flanagan, Minnesota’s lieutenant governor, have seldom appeared together at public events since then. Walz’s wife, Gwen, endorsed Flanagan’s rival, Representative Angie Craig. Peggy Flanagan was significantly out-raised by Representative Angie Craig in the Democratic primary for Senate in Minnesota, and campaign finance was a divisive issue in the race. The Flanagan campaign motto was “the many versus the money,” a message that clearly resonated with state Democrats. Campaign aides credited Flanagan’s victory to dogged campaigning across Minnesota, particularly in rural counties Democrats sometimes overlook. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENTDavid Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive and a moderate Democrat, was dramatically outperforming expectations as he was neck and neck on Tuesday evening with Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist, in the Wisconsin governor’s race. Mr. Crowley dropped out of the race last month, only to jump right back in and score an endorsement from Gov. Tony Evers after another leading candidate had ended her campaign. As a result of that chaos, plus the energy that Ms. Hong was generating from a highly motivated progressive base, Mr. Crowley received far less attention in the race. Here are five things to know about him: 1. He trailed far behind in limited opinion polls of the primary race. Mr. Crowley had been seen as a long-shot candidate going into Tuesday, with Ms. Hong widely seen as the front-runner. But her position also attracted some challenging headlines over past comments she had made criticizing holidays including Thanksgiving and Halloween. Prominent progressives including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont declined to endorse her. And many Democrats fretted that she would not be a competitive general-election candidate in a battleground state. Mr. Crowley, meanwhile, tried to capitalize on Ms. Hong’s struggles, casting himself in the final days of the race as a choice with bipartisan appeal. 2. He was endorsed by Gov. Tony Evers. Mr. Crowley found an important late-race champion in the departing Democratic governor, who decided last year not to run for a third term, setting the stage for the competitive contest. Mr. Evers argued that Mr. Crowley would be a strong general-election candidate and that his background leading Wisconsin’s largest county would prepare him for the job of governor. “He gets stuff done,” Mr. Evers said at one event, adding: “He is an administrator. He is an executive. And he’s got a heart as big as they come.” 3. He would be Wisconsin’s first Black governor. Mr. Crowley has already broken some barriers in Wisconsin. He is the first Black Milwaukee County executive. Now 40, he also became the youngest person to serve in the role when he took the post six years ago. 4. He has said he was evicted from homes three times as a child. Mr. Crowley, who grew up on Milwaukee’s North Side, has leaned into his personal history. Both of his parents struggled with addiction and mental health challenges, according to his campaign. He has said his childhood inspired him to become a community organizer and later a state lawmaker. Even as a child, his family nicknamed him Governor, he has said. “I wanted to feed my aunt, my grandmother, my uncles, take out the garbage and do the dishes,” he told The Capital Times of Madison. “I wanted to serve my family before I actually sat down and started eating. And so they used to call me ‘Governor.’” 5. Unlike Ms. Hong, he is cautious about proposing tax increases. Mr. Crowley has positioned himself as a moderate on taxes, expressing concern about raising them on the wealthy and calling for a “holistic” review of the tax system. “We absolutely need to tax the ultrawealthy,” he said at a candidates’ debate last month. “But we need to be smart about how we’re doing things long-term.” And in a post on social media last month about property taxes, he wrote, “The taxes are too damn high.” Francesca Hong briefly took her first lead of the night in Wisconsin after Dane County reported more than 6,000 new votes — a batch she led by 17 percentage points. David Crowley then pulled back ahead after a batch from Winnebago County. Thousands of ballots remain to be counted in the rest of the state, including absentee ballots from the city of Milwaukee, leaving the race wide open at the moment. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENTPeggy Flanagan, Minnesota’s lieutenant governor, could make history in November by becoming the first Native American woman elected to the Senate. She is a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe. Flanagan often started campaign events by noting that her Ojibwe name — Gizhiiwewidamookwe — means “speaks in a loud and clear voice woman.” Lisa Demuth, the speaker of the Minnesota House, won the Republican primary for governor of Minnesota on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. She defeated Mike Lindell, who was endorsed by President Trump. The contest revealed deep fissures in Minnesota’s Republican Party, which has not won a statewide election since 2006. State party leaders openly despaired last month when Mr. Trump endorsed Mr. Lindell, the MyPillow founder and a prominent election denier who they believed had virtually no chance of defeating the Democratic candidate, Senator Amy Klobuchar. Ms. Demuth, 59, a small-business owner, has represented a largely rural district in central Minnesota since 2019. In 2025, she became speaker of the Minnesota House, which is evenly split between Republicans and Democrats. After narrowly losing the Republican Party’s endorsement, Ms. Demuth stayed in the race, arguing that she was the candidate best suited to take on Ms. Klobuchar. The party’s pick, Kendall Qualls, an Army veteran and businessman, lagged a distant third in polls. Ms. Demuth has promised to cut taxes and eliminate fraud in social services programs,