Democrats' civil war heads to Michigan where progressives face biggest test yet in high-stakes Senate showdown
The high-stakes fight between the left-wing and the center-left establishment for the future of the Democratic Party is moving to a much larger stage.After victories by far-left and socialist candidates...
By Fox News · Fox News
The high-stakes fight between the left-wing and the center-left establishment for the future of the Democratic Party is moving to a much larger stage. After victories by far-left and socialist candidates in dark blue congressional districts in New York City and Colorado the past two weeks drew national attention, the spotlight now shifts to battleground Michigan. That's where moderate Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., who is backed by Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the establishment; and former Wayne County Health Department Director Abdul El-Sayed, a left-wing candidate endorsed by progressive champions Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.,and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., are colliding in a crucial Senate showdown. The winner of the Aug. 4, 2026, Democratic primary will face-off in the midterm elections in November against former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, who is on a glide path to the GOP nomination. The winner will succeed retiring Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat. CRUCIAL SENATE BATTLE ROCKED AFTER MAJOR PLAYER DROPS OUT OF RACE The seat is a top Republican target and is a must-hold for the Democrats as they aim to win back the Senate majority from the GOP, which currently controls the chamber with a slim, but manageable, 53-47 margin. The leading nonpartisan political handicappers at Cook Political Reporter rate the Senate race in Michigan as a toss-up. Matt Bennett, one of the leaders at the Third Way, a leading center-left Democratic organization, told Fox News the primary in Michigan "is much more significant" than the intra-party ballot box showdowns the past two weeks in "very, very blue districts" in New York City and Denver. The showdown in Michigan became a two-way race on Sunday, after progressive state Sen. Mallory McMorrow , once the third major Democrat in the primary, suspended her campaign. "I may be suspending this campaign, but I am not leaving the fight," McMorrow pledged in a statement Sunday as she ended her Senate…