Primary results this month in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin paint a muddled picture of just how far to the left Democratic voters want their candidates to be come this fall's midterm elections. Democrats are clear on the goal. They want to win back control of Congress this November.
But throughout primary season, the party has faced high-profile divides over its future. Coming up, we'll ask the cheif political adviser to independent Senator Bernie Sanders about the divide among Democratic voters in the wake of primaries this month in three Midwestern states. We begin with an overview of the latest results.
MARTIN: NPR political reporter Elena Moore has been following it, and she's with us now. MARTIN: So now that the Democratic primaries in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin are over, what would you say is the key takeaway? Well, for months, we've seen leftist candidates pull off upsets in a handful of solidly blue House districts, running on an antiestablishment message focused on affordability concerns.
What made these races, Michel, notable is candidates were running on a similar message but putting it to a much broader statewide audience, and the results were mixed. MOORE: Well, let's start last week in Michigan, where Abdul El-Sayed defeated Congresswoman Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary for U.S. El-Sayed pitched himself as a populist political outsider, and he had the backing of key progressives like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
He drummed up a lot of enthusiasm. And heading into Election Day, the polls indicated he had a sizable lead, but that's not what the results showed. He won, but only by a single percentage point - a little over 15,000 votes.
And, you know, make no mistake - a win is a win. But those results show how divided this party is. I mean, it was virtually a 50/50 split.
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