As progressive, DSA, and DSA-adjacent candidates win primaries throughout the US, corporate media is rushing to prop up their favorite “centrist” and “moderate” critics — who, ostensibly, are just looking out for the wellbeing of the Democratic Party — to explain why these candidates people are voting for are actually dangerous and “unelectable.” What the media is refusing to do…
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For generations, members of Congress haven’t just benefited from the power of incumbency when running for re-election, they’ve also been largely immune from bruising primary fights that end their careers.
But as is true in so many ways, this year is proving to be quite different. MS NOW reported:
Connecticut Rep. John Larson has been in the U.S. House since before the turn of the 21st century.
A lengthy career in a reliably blue district like this would normally become a safe path to continue serving in Congress. But not this year, when a growing anti-incumbent fervor seems to be gripping the country, dealing blows to Democratic House members and Republican senators alike during a bruising primary season.
Larson, who turned 78 years old last month, ended up losing to Luke Bronin, the former mayor of Hartford, who ran on a platform of generational change. It proved surprisingly effective: Bronin prevailed in a 21-point landslide.
For those keeping score, seven incumbent House Democrats — Al Green of Texas, Julie Johnson of Texas, Dan Goldman of New York, Adriano Espaillat of New York, Diana DeGette of Colorado, Shri Thanedar of Michigan and Larson — have all come up short in primaries since March. That said, it’s not an entirely one-sided phenomenon: Three House Republicans — Dan Crenshaw of Texas, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Andy Ogles of Tennessee — have also lost in recent GOP primaries.
Even two sitting U.S. senators — Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and John Cornyn of Texas — have seen primary rivals end their career.
The explanations for the outcomes do not fall neatly along straight lines, though the sheer volume of primary losses
Republican gubernatorial candidate and former “My Pillow” CEO Mike Lindell is refusing to concede his loss in the GOP primary for Minnesota governor, despite having lost by a wide margin to Speaker of the State House of Representatives Lisa Demuth (R). As of 9 am Central Time, Demuth had received 43.4 percent of the vote, winning the race with plurality support. Lindell secured only 32.5…
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As progressive, DSA, and DSA-adjacent candidates win primaries throughout the US, corporate media is rushing to prop up their favorite “centrist” and “moderate” critics—who, ostensibly, are just looking out for the wellbeing of the Democratic Party—to explain why these candidates people are voting for are actually dangerous and “unelectable.” What the media is refusing to do, on an institutional level, is disclose the glaring conflicts of interests these groups—backed by billionaires, health insurance giants, pro-Israel lobbying firms, and massive corporations —would have in attacking candidates who undermine their sponsors’ bottom lines and ideological agendas.
As progressive, DSA, and DSA-adjacent candidates win primaries throughout the US, corporate media is rushing to prop up their favorite “centrist” and “moderate” critics—who, ostensibly, are just looking out for the wellbeing of the Democratic Party—to explain why these candidates people are voting for are actually dangerous and “unelectable.”
As I noted in TRNN in June, certain personalities and parties with blatant conflicts of interest are being boosted by US media—presented as mere neutral observers who are Deeply Concerned About Electability—to dump on insurgent candidates such as Claire Valdez, Darializa Avila-Chevalier, Melat Kiro and, most recently, Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed. El-Sayed’s primary victory in Michigan signaled serious upward momentum for the latest progressive insurgency within the Democratic Party—and triggered a PR crisis for the Democratic establishment. That momentum was stemmed this week, if only for now, as DSA-endorsed candidate for Wisconsin Governor Francesca Hong was narrowly defeated—a defeat that was reportedly due, in part, to voter concerns over “electability.”
But who shapes “electability” perceptions in our media?
Let’s examine a recent article in The New York Times,
In Wisconsin’s gubernatorial race, Republican officials have long recognized the challenge they face. They realized months ago that the party was poised to nominate Rep. Tom Tiffany, an election denier and member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus who is likely to struggle in a statewide race in one of the country’s most competitive battlegrounds.
To boost their odds, Republicans decided to meddle in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. The rationale was simple: If they spent millions of dollars to boost Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist state lawmaker, they could try to turn the race into a referendum on her progressive views and controversial social media history as opposed to Tiffany’s MAGA record and allegiance to President Donald Trump.
The plan had a certain logic to it, but it didn’t work out. MS NOW reported:
In an upset, Francesca Hong was defeated Tuesday in Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary by David Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive who some argue is better positioned to build the broad coalition needed to win in November in the swing state.
Crowley defeated Hong, who was aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, according to The Associated Press. He only recently re-entered the Democratic contest and was backed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
With just about all the ballots tallied, Crowley’s victory was very narrow, but it was enough.
Time will tell what becomes of the Wisconsin race over the next 12 weeks, but as the dust settles in the Badger State, it seems like a good time to take stock of the broader GOP. How have Republican plans to meddle in Democratic primaries worked out over the course of the election cycle
About a month before Minnesota’s gubernatorial primary, Donald Trump issued an unexpected endorsement: The president threw his support behind election denier and pillow salesman Mike Lindell’s Republican candidacy. It wasn’t a perfunctory move. In the days and weeks that followed, Trump leaned into his support for Lindell, publishing a series of items to his social media platform urging GOP voters in Minnesota to nominate the notorious conspiracy theorist.
Recent polls suggested Lindell had a real chance of success, but as we’re often reminded, polling a primary in mid-August is difficult; and as the dust settled on the race, the surveys proved wrong. MS NOW reported as part of the network’s liveblog coverage:
In Minnesota, Sen. Amy Klobuchar is projected to be the Democratic gubernatorial nominee. Trump-endorsed Mike Lindell, the MyPillow founder and a vocal 2020 election conspiracy theorist, is projected to lose the Republican primary to state Rep. Lisa Demuth.
The results weren’t especially close: With just about all of the ballots tallied, Demuth appears to have defeated Lindell by roughly 11 points.
Once it became clear that he’d fallen far short, Lindell questioned the results, alleged irregularities and refused to concede, which was entirely on-brand, if nothing else.
Manic Mike Lindell is ranting and raving that he won’t concede.— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) 2026-08-12T10:42:38.075Z
But while Lindell’s supporters wait for another round of new conspiracy theories about another race, of greater interest is the frequency with which Trump-backed Republicans have lost this year.
Lindell’s defeat comes less than a week after Rep. Andy Ogles lost a GOP primary in Tennessee, despite enjoying the president’s support. Just two days earlier, former federal law enforcement officer Amir Hassan, having