“The Democratic Party’s ascendant left flank, looking to build on its success in Michigan last week, faces fresh tests in two primaries in the Midwest on Tuesday,” the New York Times reports.

“A democratic socialist appears to be clearly ahead in the governor’s race in Wisconsin, and a progressive is facing off against a moderate in an expensive Senate race in Minnesota. Wisconsin, like Michigan, is a closely watched national battleground.”

“On the Republican side, President Trump’s choice to succeed Senator Lindsey Graham in South Carolina — Mr. Graham’s younger sister, Darline Graham — is running in a special primary election against four more experienced rivals. Despite Mr. Trump’s endorsement, a runoff is likely in the crowded race.”

CNN: Wisconsin weighs a democratic socialist governor and other key races to watch in Tuesday’s primaries.

“Joe Scarborough slammed Democrats for refusing to denounce the extremist views of some of the party’s most contentious figures this year, arguing that the political party is ‘fumbling the football at the two-yard line’ just like it did in 2024,” The Wrap reports.

Said Scarborough: “The Democratic Party has a choice to make. I said this day-in and day-out leading up to Kamala Harris’ election. You couldn’t watch an NFL game without seeing 300 ‘Taxpayers are going to pay for trans surgeries for convicts’ ads on NFL games.”

He added: “Even though they still pretend that did not move viewers, I think the Trump campaign spent $30 million on those ads, and it moved working class men, working class white men, working class Black men, working class Hispanic men.”

Mediaite: “Former Vice President Kamala Harris has been urging Democratic voters to make the midterms ‘too big to rig,’ which might sound familiar, because it was one of President Donald Trump’s go-to slogans during his 2024 campaign.”

“Harris has ripped off the phrase and worked it into several of her speeches lately, including a Friday speech in New Orleans when she said Democrats have to win so handily it’s ‘too big to rig’ for the ‘cheating’ Republicans to do anything about it.”

“I know that it was a bitter end to this very long primary, but I also know that Haley brings the best of herself to her work. She is one of the most committed public servants that you’ll ever meet. She loves democracy like I love democracy, and whatever differences that we might have had in the primary, they pale in comparison to what unifies us.”

— Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul E-Sayed (D), quoted by NewsNation. 

“The author of the Democratic National Committee’s 2024 election ‘autopsy’ confirmed that he concluded the war in Gaza hurt Kamala Harris politically — and that he’d privately shared that assessment with a pro-Palestinian group,” Axios reports.

“He said he drafted that finding late last year but never submitted it to party leadership.”

“The Democratic nominee for Michigan’s swing 7th Congressional District said Wednesday that he allowed his Democratic Socialists of America membership to lapse just last month,” the Detroit News reports.

“Will Lawrence, who won his three-way primary race by 15 percentage points Tuesday, told CNN’s Manu Raju that he stopped paying his DSA dues to focus on district-specific challenges that ‘are bringing people together.’ He denied the general election had anything to do with that decision.”

“Rep. Haley Stevens of Michigan said Thursday she’s moving on from the contentious Senate primary, which she lost to Abdul El-Sayed, saying their ‘differences were aired out,'” CBS News reports.

Said Stevens: “Everything that needed to be said in the primary was said. It’s a big tent party.”

She added: “Abdul’s got a big campaign to run. We did the unity deal. My focus here is, no Rogers. No Republicans. Abdul and I had our primary. It’s over. It’s over.” 

For members: The Democratic Civil War That Never Happened

“Democrats should use Congress’ August recess to lean into economic populism and take on corporate interests — not just ‘simply oppose Trump and his billionaire friends,’ according to a memo by a quartet of progressives,” Semafor reports.

Wrote the senators: “If Democrats are going to be the party of working people, we have to prove that we can be trusted to unrig the system by confronting the elites who are doing the rigging.”

Bloomberg: Progressives in Congress see El-Sayed victory as change mandate.