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You are here: Home / 2026 Campaign / A Normie Democrat Revolt Is Pushing El-Sayed To Victory

A Normie Democrat Revolt Is Pushing El-Sayed To Victory

August 2, 2026 at 7:28 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

NOTUS: “Rank-and-file Democratic voters who once naturally inclined toward establishment-backed candidates are instead supporting — or at least showing an openness to — lefty candidates they would have previously believed to be outside the political mainstream. They’re driven by disappointment in old-guard Democrats’ inability to beat Trump in 2024 and a growing sense that the country’s politics need a fresh direction.”

“It’s that change in the electorate that, more than anything this year, explains why El-Sayed is now favored to beat Rep. Haley Stevens in Tuesday’s Senate primary in Michigan. Stevens is running the type of campaign — backed by key party endorsements, support in the Black community and plenty of money — that has helped centrist Democrats like her defeat progressive challengers for years. That pattern held for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.”

“But the voters on the receiving end of that effort are in a much different place than they were in 2024, much less 2018 or 2016.”

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Filed Under: 2026 Campaign, Democrats

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About Political Wire

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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