After big wins last month by self-styled democratic socialists in several House primaries in New York and Colorado, attention is likely to turn to Democratic nomination battles in three states Aug. 4.
Some political observers have dubbed Aug. 4 "Red Tuesday," sensing gains for other candidates with socialist leanings in Michigan, Missouri, and Washington state.
The most-watched contest will be for the Democratic nomination to succeed retiring Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich.
The most recent Michigan Information and Research Service poll showed that progressive Abdul El-Sayed, an epidemiologist who has served as health director of Detroit and Wayne County — which includes Detroit — leads among likely Democratic voters 42% to 33% over the more centrist Rep. Haley Stevens.
State Sen. Mallory McMorrow trails in third place with 6%, the poll found.
El-Sayed has secured the endorsement of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has also voiced her support for El-Sayed.
El-Sayed supports proposals such as "Medicare for All" and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He has also been highly critical of Israel and referred to its attacks on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as "genocide."
In Michigan's 7th Congressional District, which includes the Lansing area, activist William Lawrence is seeking the Democratic nomination to face Republican Rep. Tom Barrett in November.
Lawrence, who is also endorsed by Sanders, favors ending what he calls the "illegal and expensive war on Iran" and ending arms sales to Israel. He faces Bridget Brink, who has served as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine as well as Slovakia.
The rematch in Missouri's 1st District (St. Louis) between former Rep. Cori Bush and incumbent Wesley Bell is the most-watched Democratic primary in the Show Me State.
Bush, a progressive, lost her 2024 primary bid when the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's affiliate in Missouri spent an estimated $9.3 million against her and for Bell.
Bush has said "the tide has already turned" regarding AIPAC and what she calls its outside interference in primaries and she will emerge triumphant against Bell.
In Washington state's primary — in which candidates all appear on the same ballot regardless of party — 14-term Democratic Rep. Adam Smith faces a rematch in the 9th District (Seattle) from union member and activist Melissa Chaudhry.
Chaudhry's core campaign issues include immigrant rights and improving healthcare access. She also contrasts Smith's position as ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee with her position calling for reducing "war taxes."
Should Bush and Chaudhry defeat the incumbents, it is sure to be interpreted by the national press as a continuing sign the Democrats are moving leftward.
"Extreme leftism has been building within the Democratic Party for years," said Henry Olsen, senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and author of a book on former President Ronald Reagan and his relationship with blue-collar voters. "It's reaching critical mass now out of frustration with establishment for not stopping [President Donald] Trump and the erosion of support for Democrats among moderates."
Olsen's conclusion was seconded by Dan Schnur, professor at the University of California, Berkeley, Institute of Governmental Studies and onetime top aide to former California Gov. Pete Wilson.
"Support for democratic socialism is strongest among young, white, and wealthier voters," Schnur told Newsmax. "The working-class voters who would see the most immediate benefit are not nearly as enthusiastic."
Schnur predicted that this trend "is not going away anytime soon. The Democrats will be having the fight through 2028 and beyond."
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.