The battle between the left-wing and the center-left establishment for the ideological future of the Democratic Party is staying put in the Midwest.

After far-left candidate Abdul El-Sayed narrowly edged out more moderate Rep. Haley Stevens this week in battleground Michigan’s high-stakes Democratic Senate primary, the spotlight now shifts to nomination showdowns next week 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,» Democratic candidate for governor Francesca Hong wrote following El-Sayed’s victory.

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Hong, a state representative and Democratic Socialists of America (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 GOP gubernatorial nomination, in the race to succeed Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who decided against running for a third term.

Hong, a former chef, is backed by top nationally known progressives, including Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Ro Khanna of California, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender.

She is running on a platform that includes guaranteed paid leave 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. Hong says she no longer supports cutting police budgets or abolishing police departments.

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Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong listens to Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speak before being introduced during a campaign rally on Aug. 2, 2026 in Milwaukee. (Joshua Lott/Getty Images)

But Hong’s made national headlines in recent days over a resurfaced 2020 social media post that the country should «cancel Thanksgiving» in order to «stop celebrating colonialism and the original superspreader event that killed Indegenous folx [sic.] and women.» It’s a comment she has since walked back amid backlash, and now says that Thanksgiving is her «favorite holiday.»

There’s a growing number of moderate Democrats who worry that if Hong captures the gubernatorial nomination, as many expect, it will give Tiffany a big boost in his bid to flip the governor’s office.

A Wisconsin-based Democratic strategist who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely argued with Hong at the top of the ticket, «it will hurt Democrats down ballot, in key congressional and legislative races» in the Midwestern battleground.

In Minnesota, which also holds primaries next Tuesday, the Democratic Party’s civil war is also on display as progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and more moderate Rep. Angie Craig are the top two contenders battling for the party’s nomination. The current senator, Democrat Tina Smith, is retiring at the end of this year.

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Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota’s lieutenant governor, is one of the top two contenders for the Democratic Senate nomination in the state’s Aug. 11, 2026 primary. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

A primary victory by Flanagan, who is backed by progressive champions Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, may boost the GOP hopes of flipping the seat in a blue-leaning but competitive state.

Michigan’s primary came in the wake of left-wing victories in Democratic primaries this spring and earlier this summer in deep blue congressional districts across the country, including in New York City and Denver, and in the extended race for Maine’s Democratic Senate nomination.

More than $80 million was spent on the Michigan Senate primary, making it the most expensive Democratic Senate nomination contest in history. Much of the money came from outside groups supporting Stevens or opposing El-Sayed. The largest spender was United Democracy Project, a political action committee aligned with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which is best known by its acronym AIPAC.

Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), a leading group on the left, referred to El-Sayed’s narrow margin over Stevens and told Fox News Digital that «any win against $60 million dollars of outside spending by AIPAC and corporate interests is a giant win and sets us on a path of proving our case in November to shake up the system.»

El-Sayed’s razor-thin win was accompanied by two other progressive victories.

William Lawrence, a co-founder of the Sunrise Movement climate advocacy group, edged out two more moderate Democrats in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, a Republican-controlled swing seat that is among roughly two dozen races expected to help determine control of the House.

Lawrence, who was backed by Sanders and El-Sayed as well as several prominent progressive groups, will face Republican Rep. Tom Barrett in the general election.

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State Rep. Donovan McKinney, a Democratic congressional candidate in Michigan, speaks at a campaign event in Detroit, Michigan on August 2, 2026. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News )

And in Michigan’s heavily Democratic 13th Congressional District, Rep. Shri Thanedar, who was supported by top House Democratic leaders, was narrowly defeated by state Rep. Donovan McKinney. McKinney was backed by Sanders, El-Sayed and «Squad» members Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Summer Lee of Pennsylvania.

There was a setback for the far-left: DSA member and former Squad member former Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri was crushed by Democratic Rep. Wesley Bell in their rematch, as she unsuccessfully tried to win back her old seat in Congress representing St. Louis.

But El-Sayed’s victory and the potential wins by the left next week are further fueling the ongoing Republican push to characterize all Democrats on the ballot in the midterms as far left radicals, or as President Donald Trump calls them, «communists.»

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Vice President JD Vance, in an interview Wednesday on Fox News «The Ingraham Angle,» argued that «the base of the Democratic Party just wants radicals. It wants these DSA types, it wants people who hate even the idea of private property ownership.»

Whether the GOP messaging is effective will be answered on Election Night, in November’s midterms.

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command vowed Thursday that the U.S. «remains committed to the defense of the U.S. homeland and our allies in the region» after North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile.

The launch of the short-range ballistic missile unfolded ahead of large-scale, annual exercises to be conducted by the U.S. and South Korean militaries later this month. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said a projectile from North Korea’s eastern Wonsan area was detected around 5 p.m. local time.

«We are aware of the missile launch and are consulting closely with our allies and partners. Based on current assessments, this event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies,» U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement.

«The United States remains committed to the defense of the U.S. homeland and our allies in the region,» it added.

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South Korea’s military bolstered its surveillance posture and is closely coordinating with the U.S. and Japan in the wake of the event, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the missile landed in the waters off North Korea’s east coast and that there were no reports that the weapon reached Japanese territory.

Koizumi added that North Korea’s repeated missile launches pose a threat to Japan and the region and that Tokyo lodged a protest to Pyongyang through their embassies in Beijing. South Korea’s presidential national security council called the North Korean launch «a provocation» that violates U.N. Security Council resolutions and urged the North to stop it.

It was North Korea’s first ballistic missile launch since late June, when it tested a tactical ballistic missile with a «special mission» warhead and other weapons. After watching the testing activities, leader Kim Jong Un said at the time that the military needed to bolster its «deadly and destructive offensive posture.»

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observes strategic cruise and anti-warship missiles test-fired from the destroyer Choe Hyon on Sunday, April 12, 2026. (Korean Central News Agency/Reuters)

South Korean and U.S. officials haven’t yet released details about this year’s Ulchi Freedom Shield joint exercise, but the drills are typically held in the latter half of August.

«This annual exercise aims to build understanding between Combined Forces Command, United States Forces Korea, the United Nations Command, and ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), ROK government agency, ensuring their ability to fortify the combined defense posture and enhance Alliance response capabilities against a spectrum of security threats,» United States Forces Korea said about the exercises on its website.

«It will feature live, virtual, constructive and field-based training, engaging personnel from the various military services,» it added.

U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division participate in a river crossing exercise as part of the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise on Aug. 27, 2025, in Yeoju-gun, South Korea. The 11-day exercise is a regular joint military exercise between U.S. and South Korean troops to prepare for potential emergencies on the Korean Peninsula. (Getty Images)

U.S. and South Korean officials say the training is defensive in nature, but North Korea says the maneuvers are a practice invasion and often responds with missile tests, according to The Associated Press.

Fox News’ Liz Friden and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A debate over whether a burrito should cost $20 has ignited a Republican civil war over affordability and the party’s appeal to younger voters ahead of the midterm elections.

The clash began Wednesday when Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet shared a college student’s complaint that basic purchases have become prohibitively expensive.

«​​One of our TPUSA college students gave me his take on affordability: ‘A burrito shouldn’t cost $20,’» he posted to X on Wednesday. «Yeah, a lot of this is a hangover from Covid and Biden-era inflation, but the lived experience is the same: It just feels like basic things cost too much.»

Fiscal conservatives took the position that food is generally affordable if one cooks for themselves and that purchasing a $20 burrito should be considered an occasional luxury. Those aligned with the populist wing of the GOP, meanwhile, argued that traditional conservatives are out of touch with the youth and that the Republican Party faces electoral peril unless it can meaningfully address affordability concerns.

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«Just hearing about this dumb $20 burrito debate so just thought I’d make the losers on social media angry before going to bed,» Rep. Dan Crenshaw wrote on Wednesday night. «Stop whining, get a job, eat Ramen like the rest of us did in college, on a budget with 4 roommates. The market doesn’t care what you think something ‘should’ cost.»

RealClearInvestigations senior writer Mark Hemingway, however, said that such an approach to affordability concerns could prove toxic to the GOP.

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A Chipotle logo is displayed outside their restaurant on Feb. 24, 2025, in San Diego, California. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

«Andrew [Kolvet] is absolutely right about this, and pundits deflecting because you can cook at home cheaper are not helping,» he said. «Eating a burrito once in a while should not be an aspirational lifestyle, for crying out loud.»

«The comments saying stick to the dining hall or buy microwaveable burritos are missing the ENTIRE point,» Defense of Freedom Institute spokeswoman Angela Morabito said. «If the Right’s ‘solution’ to the affordability crisis is telling people to eat worse food, we will lose, and we will deserve it.»

Chipotle burritos generally run between about $9 and $12 depending on location, with cheaper restaurants, such as Taco Bell, offering more affordable options. Some fiscal conservatives also pointed out that young people can save money by preparing meals at home.

«A burrito only costs $20 when you buy it on Door Dash because you’re too lazy to walk over to Chipotle or Taco Bell (where you can get one for $3.99),» Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen wrote in response to a populist arguing that the GOP could surrender ground to socialists by not addressing affordability. «When I graduated I lived on ramen noodles, had two roommates, and worked two jobs. I didn’t whine about affordability, I worked hard so I could one day afford a better life.»

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Vice President JD Vance attends a Cabinet meeting at Camp David in Maryland on July 31, 2026. (Aaron Schwartz/AFP via Getty Images)

Vice President JD Vance then added to the debate, responding to Thiessen.

«I’m surprised to hear Mark say this. If you’ve ever met him in person, it’s quite obvious the man has never missed a burrito,» the vice president wrote.

Bradley Devlin, politics editor at the Daily Signal, claimed that some involved in the burrito discourse were ignorant of financial sacrifices he says are quite common among young people.

«The Burrito Discourse has exposed that so people with thoughts on the youths have not spoken to one in years,» he wrote. «They do not expect to live off delivered food from bespoke restaurants and live on their own. I don’t know a single 20 something who lives on their own right now. Having a college degree and two jobs is around the highest it’s ever been. ‘The college premium’ has dried up.»

Others responded to the debate in jest.

«I don’t care for burritos,» Daily Wire host Michael Knowles posted.