Aug 11 - Democratic socialist Francesca Hong and moderate David Crowley were locked in a tighter-than-expected battle for Wisconsin's closely watched Democratic gubernatorial primary election on Tuesday, in a key test for the appeal of progressive candidates in the battleground state.

With 80% of the votes tallied, the race between Hong and Crowley was too close to call. According to U.S. media projections, Milwaukee County Executive Crowley carried a lead of just a few hundred votes over Hong, who is looking to become the first democratic socialist governor of Wisconsin.

The nominee will face the Republican's pick, U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany, in the November general election.

Hong faced criticism for the reappearance of old tweets, including a November 2020 post, at the height of a COVID-19 wave in Wisconsin, in which she wrote, "Please DON'T gather for the colonizer holiday," and another when she said, "Cancel Thanksgiving. Should have done this in 1621."

In recent interviews, Hong has walked back those statements, saying that as a chef, she had fond memories of the Thanksgiving holiday, but that Thanksgiving is a time that is painful for many people. In another interview she said that she did not want to cancel Thanksgiving.

Hong did not respond to a request for an interview.

Still, Hong's left-leaning policy goals, including abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, a one-year moratorium on data centers and increased taxation of billionaires and corporations, may be growing in popularity among Democratic voters.

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Democratic voters want their party's candidates to track further to the left. More than seven in 10 liberal Democrats say it’s “essential” for their party’s candidates to support increasing taxes on corporations and billionaires (76%), expanding access to abortion (72%) and universal government-provided healthcare (71%).

But unlike Abdul El-Sayed, another left-winger who captured the Michigan Democratic Senate primary earlier this month, Hong is running without endorsements from U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

Meanwhile, in Wisconsin's third congressional district, Democrats chose Rebecca Cooke, an ex-small business owner and waitress who has run for the seat twice before, as their challenger to Trump-aligned Republican Derrick Van Orden, who has held the district since 2022, in one of the most competitive House races in the country.

Cooke has out-fundraised Van Orden and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has added her to its Red to Blue program, providing organizational and financial support to candidates in the elections it considers the most hotly contested.

MINNESOTA REPUBLICANS WEIGH TRUMP'S ENDORSEMENT OF LINDELL

The night is also expected to indicate whether the endorsement of U.S. President Donald Trump still carries weight with Republicans in the Upper Midwest.

In Minnesota, Trump-backed former MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell is running for the Republican nomination, also facing off against more conventional candidates.

Lindell is an enduring Trump ally and proponent of the baseless idea that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives Lisa Demuth and businessman Kendall Qualls are also top hopefuls.

This year could be a tough one for the Minnesota Republicans, with one of their top contenders, lawyer Chris Madel, dropping out of the race in January, in the aftermath of "Operation Metro Surge," the immigration deportation campaign in Minneapolis that led to the deaths of two people.

"I cannot support the national Republicans' stated retribution on the citizens of our state nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so," Madel said in a video posted on X. "The national Republicans have made it nearly impossible for a Republican to win a statewide election in Minnesota."

But Lindell told Reuters in an interview that he could win over Democratic voters. "I believe I'm the only candidate that can win. I not only have the name, but I can raise the most money and I can do the best marketing," said Lindell, who stepped down as CEO of MyPillow in early August to devote himself full-time to his campaign.

Lindell received Trump's endorsement in May, when the president wrote on Truth Social, “Mike will be SPECTACULAR!!! He truly loves Minnesota, as do I, and wants to bring it back from oblivion and embarrassment. He can do it!”

MINNESOTA SENATE MATCHUP

Among the aspirants for Minnesota's Democratic Senate nomination are left-leaning Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, who was elected on a ticket with Governor Tim Walz in 2018, and Representative Angie Craig, who is seen as a more moderate candidate who sometimes votes with Republicans.

The candidates are seeking the seat left open by Democratic Senator Tina Smith, who announced her retirement in February 2025.

Craig was the only Minnesota Democrat to vote for the Laken Riley Act, which gave ICE broader authority to detain immigrants charged with some crimes, but later said she regretted her vote.

Flanagan has said ICE is out of control and must be dismantled. REUTERS

Voting ends in Upper Midwest primaries, a test of progressive energy and Trump's influence