Trumps endorsement power tested in South Carolina battle to succeed Lindsey Graham

MADISON, Wis. – Polls closed Tuesday evening in South Carolina and Vermont, kicking off a consequential night of primaries headlined by the battle to succeed the late Sen. Lindsey Graham and another test of President s endorsement power.

In South Carolina, Trump is backing Sen. Darline Graham, the late senators younger sister, in a crowded special Republican Senate primary one month after Grahams sudden death. GOP Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham last month to serve the remainder of her brothers term. Reps. Ralph Norman and Russell Fry and former Gov. Mark Sanford are among her top rivals for the nomination.

But some of the nights biggest political fireworks are still to come in the Midwest, where Wisconsin and Minnesota are the key battlegrounds in the high-stakes fight between the left-wing and the center-left establishment for the future of the Democratic Party.

After far-left candidate narrowly edged out more moderate Rep. Haley Stevens a week ago in battleground Michigan's Democratic Senate primary, the spotlight now shifts to statewide nomination showdowns Tuesday in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

At stake: a top-tier Senate showdown in Minnesota that's among a dozen races nationwide that will determine if the Democrats can win back control of the chamber from the GOP, and a gubernatorial face-off in crucial swing-state Wisconsin where Republicans are aiming to flip the governor's mansion.

"Michigan proved that working people are ready for something different, and Wisconsin is next," for governor Francesca Hong wrote following El-Sayed's victory.

Hong, a state representative and (DSA) member, is the polling frontrunner in a Democratic gubernatorial nomination showdown that's been rocked this summer after two major contenders dropped out, and another candidate re-entered the race.

The primary winner will likely face off in the general election with Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, the overwhelming polling and fundraising frontrunner for the , in the race to succeed Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who decided against running for a third term. Tiffany, who is backed by Trump, is a hard-right member of the House Freedom Caucus.

Hong, a 37-year-old former chef and single mother, is backed by top nationally known progressives, including Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Ro Khanna of California, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender. But Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a longtime champion of the left, last week said he didn't plan on endorsing Hong, arguing that he was not familiar enough with her campaign or the race. And Hong also didn't land the backing of another top progressive champion: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

Hong is running on a platform that includes guaranteed paid leave, boosting the state's minimum wage from $7.25 to $20 per hour, and a one-year moratorium in Wisconsin on building AI data centers. Hong has faced scrutiny over years-old social media posts calling for defunding and abolishing the police. But she says she no longer supports cutting police budgets or abolishing police departments.

"I'm not defunding the police, not abolishing police. I am serious about public safety," Hong emphasized on Saturday as she took questions from voters.

Hong also made national headlines over the past two weeks for a resurfaced social media post from 2020 where she argued that the country should "cancel Thanksgiving" in order to "stop celebrating colonialism."

Hong walked back her Thanksgiving comments, amid backlash, and now says that Thanksgiving is her "favorite holiday."

On her resurfaced tweets, Hong told reporters on Saturday that she ha