Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Progressives didn\u2019t get the earthquake they expected. Moderates are relishing in their stronger than expected showing.<\/p>\n
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, with Michigan\u2019s marquee Democratic Senate primary still in limbo, one of Democrats\u2019 key questions of the midterms remains unresolved: Can the party\u2019s most progressive faction successfully compete \u2014 and go on to win \u2014 in a battleground state?<\/p>\n
The razor-thin margin between progressive Abdul El-Sayed and moderate Rep. Haley Stevens will leave Democrats arguing about the answer regardless of who ultimately prevails.<\/p>\n
The finger-pointing within the party has already begun<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThese guys are unbelievably cocky,\u201d said a Democratic operative granted anonymity to speak candidly. The person was frustrated over El-Sayed\u2019s decision to attend a pool party<\/a> with progressive streamer Hasan Piker on Monday, hours before polls opened.<\/p>\n El-Sayed led by three points by the time both candidates addressed their supporters around 1 a.m. Wednesday, with thousands of votes yet to be counted. He performed best<\/a> in the state\u2019s wealthiest and most highly-educated places, while Stevens outperformed him in areas with lower average incomes and where fewer voters have college degrees.<\/p>\n But that marginal lead was a far cry from what El-Sayed and his allies had expected.<\/p>\n Public polling in the campaign\u2019s closing stretch showed El-Sayed ahead of Stevens by double digits.<\/a> And his campaign projected confidence they would deliver a decisive win that would cement the strength of the progressive movement in Michigan, a state crucial to the Democratic Party\u2019s prospects of retaking the Senate in November and, eventually, the White House in 2028.<\/p>\n The progressive wave never materialized on Tuesday night, igniting fresh questions about the potency of the movement. Progressive candidates have notched a series of wins throughout the spring primary season in safe and competitive districts, from California to Maine. Michigan, however, was widely viewed as their biggest test yet.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Democratic Party is a coalition that spans everything from center to socialist,\u201d Democratic strategist Tr\u00e9 Easton wrote on social media<\/a> Wednesday morning in response to Tuesday\u2019s results. \u201cEach part needs the other.\u201d<\/p>\n El-Sayed has maintained a steady lead after the polls closed, and could very well still pull off a win for his progressive coalition and advance to the general election \u2014 but instead of kicking off the next phase of his campaign with a victory lap, he\u2019ll emerge limping out of a closer-than-foretold primary.<\/p>\n Even beyond the Senate race, the results were mixed: Progressive Sunrise Movement co-founder William Lawrence won his primary<\/a> for Michigan\u2019s 7th District, but largely because two more moderate candidates had split the vote. Democratic socialist Donavan McKinney is still locked in a tight race with incumbent Rep. Shri Thanedar for Michigan\u2019s 13th District. And over in Missouri, progressive Cori Bush\u2019s comeback bid fell apart<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cBottom line is if [El-Sayed] wins, the DSA brand beyond major urban areas is not popular,\u201d a national Democratic operative granted anonymity to speak candidly said early Wednesday morning. \u201cCertainly puts a dent in the movement especially with Cori Bush\u2019s loss.\u201d<\/p>\n Stevens sent her own supporters home on an optimistic note Wednesday morning: \u201cI\u2019m feeling good about this race.\u201d<\/p>\n El-Sayed, for his part, quickly recast his narrow lead as a victory against the barrage of spending against him from pro-Stevens groups \u2014 despite projecting enough confidence to declare he would beat Rogers \u201cby seven\u201d<\/a> percentage points in the general election earlier on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cI wish I could tell you that I was declaring victory right about now. Turns out it takes a long time to count some votes in Michigan,\u201d El-Sayed told supporters at his election night party in Detroit.<\/p>\n For some El-Sayed allies a win is a win, even if the final margins are close. \u201cAny win is good, as long as it\u2019s called tonight,\u201d Bhaskar Sunkara, a 2020 Bernie Sanders surrogate and former DSA vice chair, told POLITICO<\/a>.<\/p>\n Regardless of the final outcome, the race\u2019s narrow margin ensures that the winner will have significant work to do to unify the party after an acrimonious primary riddled with personal attacks from both sides \u2014 a reality both candidates appeared to acknowledge in remarks to supporters.<\/p>\n \u201cTo all of our supporters here tonight, watching on TV, tomorrow we begin to mend fences,\u201d El-Sayed said. \u201cIf your instinct is to be like, ‘I told you.’ Nope. Let’s come together to build a movement that’s even bigger, that’s even stronger, that’s even more powerful, that reaches into the very depths of this state, that reminds us the best of who we are and who we can be.\u201d<\/p>\n Democrats across the state had already set their focus on uniting their deeply fractured party ahead of another likely bruising contest in the general election.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s no secret that this has at once been a contentious and bruising primary, but Democrats through it all have shown resilience towards coming together following primaries,\u201d said Chris Herweyer, an organizing director for the Kent County Democratic Party.<\/p>\n Michigan State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who ran for Senate before suspending her campaign a month before the primary, endorsed El-Sayed early Wednesday<\/a> as he maintained a narrow advantage over Rep. Haley Stevens \u2014 another sign of swift efforts to reconcile, even as the race remained in limbo.<\/p>\n Republicans, meanwhile, are still hoping for an El-Sayed win. Rogers\u2019 primary proved a bright spot for Republicans on the Senate map, where the party successfully avoided a costly and heated primary of their own and could focus early on the general election.<\/p>\n \u201cEl-Sayed is the preferred candidate\u201d for Republicans, Jason Roe, a longtime Republican operative in Michigan, said in a text message. \u201cEl-Sayed is not doing very well outstate and I think that\u2019s what a lot of Republicans are banking on. It will be very difficult for him to beat Rogers with those rural counties.\u201d<\/p>\n Andrew Howard and Will Steakin contributed to this report.\u00a0<\/p>\n