The NPR Politics Podcast - Voters sent mixed messages in Tuesday's primaries

Episode Date: August 12, 2026

Voting wrapped up in several states’ primaries on Tuesday, and the results were a mixed bag. We discuss takeaways from primaries in Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Carolina and Connecticut.This episode: White House correspondent Deepa Shivaram, senior political correspondent Tamara Keith, and Minnesota Public Radio host Clay Masters.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye.Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Primary elections wrapped up in several states yesterday, and the messages that voters are sending are a bit mixed. A moderate Democrat beat out the more progressive choice in Wisconsin, but next door in Minnesota, the opposite happened. And President Trump's endorsed candidate lost the Republican contest for Minnesota governor, but his pick advanced in the special South Carolina Senate primary. So let's unpack it. It's the NPR Politics Podcast. I'm Deepa Shipporam. I cover the White House. I'm Tamara Keith, senior political correspondent. And Clay Masters from Minnesota Public Radio is also here with us today.

Welcome back, Clay. Happy to be back. So let's start with the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor, which ended up being a very close race. We talked about this on the pod the other week. It was a crowded field and then it wasn't and then it kind of became a crowded field again. How did that shake out last night? Yes, in my neighboring state of Wisconsin, the swing state of Wisconsin, the race for governor on the Democratic side, there was a local Milwaukee politician, David Crowley, who was considered the more moderate candidate, beat out state representative Francesca Hong, who identifies as a Democratic socialist.

And this race was closely watched to see if it would replicate the results of another swing state recently in nearby Michigan in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary race there. So while that didn't happen, while the more progressive candidate did not win, it was still a very close race and really shows that there's a good amount of Democratic voters. who are looking for some kind of change within their party. Yeah. Heading into this, the polling showed Francesca Hong way ahead. But that polling really couldn't keep up with all the events that were happening in this race. David Crowley had dropped out of the race. Then because the lieutenant governor, Sarah Rodriguez, who had been the establishment candidate

that the establishment lane was coalescing behind, then she had to drop out of the race herself. And so David Crowley got back. in with the endorsement and encouragement of Governor Tony Evers. And they actually campaigned together. It was a very intense just a couple of weeks there at the end of the race. At the same time that Hong was doing a lot of national TV interviews where she was getting asked about her past statements on things like not liking Thanksgiving. I think other things that are important to note about Wisconsin is this is a state that

has been in sort of a constant election season for more than a decade where there are incredibly engaged voters, especially on the Democratic side, who have showed up in, you know, off-year state state Supreme Court elections, who have showed up for all of these things. And so they are, they are like very high information voters who are very engaged. And ultimately, when it became clear, that Crowley was the alternative, enough people showed up for him and he won. But like, by the narrowest of margins. And we should note, too, that Crowley will face Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany, who, you know, just handily defeated a political newcomer to win his primary. I want to dig into that a little bit more because I think there's sort of this perception that like, oh, you know, someone like Abdul Al-Sayed just won this primary race in Michigan. That's near Wisconsin, both Midwest swingy states. So maybe there was a trend going on potentially of progressive Democrats, right, beating out more moderate candidates.

I think on a very surface level, this race seems to buck that trend. But to your point, Tam, it was very narrow. And there was also high turnout. So how did that kind of factor in into what this shows us? There was high turnout and it was a crowded field. Now, in terms of numbers, and this is pretty stunning, 792,000 at this point, Democrats turned up. to vote. Meanwhile, on the Republican side, which as you say was not as competitive, but there are some competitive House races. 491,000 showed up. So, you know, I should have just rounded my numbers

and I apologize for that. But in short, it's a difference of 300,000 showing up to vote in a primary, which, you know, as Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin was saying on TV this morning, means that Tom Tiffany has some work to do, not least because Republicans were really betting on being able to run against Francesca Hong, and now they can't. And I think also just important to point out here the fact that, you know, Wisconsin is the swingiest of swing states. And to Tam's point, it is always perpetually seeming like there is some kind of election going on there.

So it's kind of hard to compare Wisconsin to Michigan and especially hard to compare it to Minnesota, where I'm based. You mentioned Minnesota. Let's get into that. Over in Minnesota, the progressive candidate did win the Democratic primary for Senate. What happened there last night? Okay. So there were two Democrats who were eating up all the oxygen in Minnesota. They were lieutenant governor Peggy Flanagan, seen as the more progressive candidate, Congresswoman Angie Craig, who was seen as the more moderate candidate. I spoke with both of them the weekend heading into the primary. And I asked Angie Craig, do you identify with the term moderate? And she said, no, I'm a progressive. candidate. So there, you know, there was some squabbling over what the definition of moderate or progressive really is. Peggy Flanagan, the lieutenant governor, she was the victor last night. And it was a wide margin, nearly 20 points. She was the more progressive candidate, as I mentioned. She had the

endorsements of senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, as well as the endorsement of the senator currently in that seat, Tina Smith, who is retiring. And that's why the seat is open. And so it was very interesting just to see all of this seemingly competitive race come to the conclusion last night where the more progressive candidate really came out on top. And I should mention, too, I stopped by both of the watch parties last night. One of them, Peggy Flanagan, was at First Avenue, which is this iconic venue in Minneapolis where Prince played back in the day. A lot of young people in the audience. It was like people were waiting for a concert to start. I mean, you know those vibes before the show begins. Over at Angie Craig's watch party, it was a brewery, and it felt more like,

I don't know, like a work event afterwards where you're making small talk and just having a beer. So the vibes were really kind of telling of the night that was about to play out. That is a really interesting anecdote. Talk to me about this race a little bit more specifically. What were the issues that were at play? Yeah, the big one was immigration. You know, the year started out with President Trump's immigration crackdown on the Twin Cities and across Minnesota that was known as Operation Metro Surge. It was, you know, meant to remove undocumented immigrants. There was a lot of separation that was happening, a lot of fear, a lot of concern. And of course, it ultimately led to the death of two American citizens, Alex Prattie and Renee Good. And there was this one vote that

Congresswoman Angie Craig made that was a GOP-backed bill, the Lake and Riley, Act that had to do with immigration, that later she said that she regretted. And Peggy Flanagan just used that constantly and talked about it regularly. We have a clip right now from Peggy Flanagan last night during her victory speech talking about ice. And now let's talk about Donald Trump's out of control ice force. We need to rip ice apart and stop them from terrorizing our communities. And over the weekend, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan told me at event that a lot of her volunteers, the people that were showing up for her campaign were activated during Operation Metro Surge, that were organizing ways to help out neighbors, that were doing patrolling neighborhoods with whistles if ice was in the neighborhood. And she really saw that as kind of a call to action and was constantly hammering Angie Craig on that issue.

And I'll just say that this is in some ways a sign of just how far. the pendulum has swung in the relatively short time of this second Trump term. More than 40 Democrats in the House voted for the Lake and Riley Act, which passed very early in 2025 at the beginning of the Trump term when Trump won on immigration as one of his key issues. And there was a feeling that Democrats needed to show that they could be a little tougher on immigration. Well, then the reality of the Trump administration's implementation of immigration law happened. And you saw what happened in Minnesota, which galvanized protests not just in Minnesota, but all over the country, frustration among voters with like, hey, this isn't what we signed up for, Americans being killed in the streets. And so the fact that this then became a political liability a year and a half later just shows how far. the country has moved on this issue that was a key Trump strength and is not anymore.

That's really interesting as we repeatedly talk about how the economy is also quickly not becoming one of Republican strengths either. Yep. Clay, I want to stay in Minnesota for a second because I want to talk about the Republican who Flanagan will face in November. Kind of an interesting situation here. Yeah, Michelle Tofoya is the Republican who won. And I should note that the Republican endorsed candidate, so the candidate that was actually endorsed by the Republican Party of Minnesota did not win. They went with Michelle Tafoya. And Tafoya is seen as a much more moderate candidate.

I talked with her last night after her victory, and she's a former NFL sideline reporter. And I asked her if there is room for her in the Republican Party of Donald Trump. And she said, well, I'm running to call balls and strike. when it comes to what the president is doing. She told me she disagreed with Operation Metro Surge with how it was rolled out and ultimately said it was resolved well when Tom Homan the Bordersar came in and kind of took things over. And then there's also been a lot of talk about how she is for abortion rights. And I flat out asked her, what is your view on abortion? And here's what she told me. I am a pro-choice Republican. I don't agree with my party

on every single element. And so this is my personal stance, what I will say is that I'm going to the Senate to make sure that we confirm strict constructionist judges. And I think this is significant because Republican voters here selected a candidate that they think might have a better chance of winning some of those more independent or swing voters in Minnesota. Remember, the state has not gone a Republican in a very long time. And the voters are sending somebody more moderate in this era of Trump when the president has been polling pretty unpopular. And I do want to know one other thing, too, that Tofoya was mentioning, and you're going to hear a lot about it. I know the White House, especially

Vice President, J.D. Vance, has been talking a lot about fraud. And Minnesota is the state that they point to the most. And Governor Tim Walls, his lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanagan, has been at the helm. And this is going to be an attack that you hear time and time again, I think, from Michelle Tafoya throughout the remaining few months before the general election. Yeah. And I would just add that I don't think it's surprising that Minnesota voters picked a more moderate Republican candidate, especially one who's famous from TV. It makes sense. There is probably no chance that a MAGA Republican could win in the blue state of Minnesota, but certainly a moderate would have a better shot than someone who is just far right. And I think party insiders for the Democrats here in Minnesota were very

eager to have Angie Craig, the Congresswoman, who was seen as the more moderate, be the one that would go up against Michelle Tofoya. All right. We need to take a quick break, but we will be back in a moment. And we're back. Let's stick with Minnesota again, because we have Clay here with us, and talk about Republicans because I want to talk about the governor's race. President Trump endorsed Mike Lindell.

And if that name kind of sounds familiar, it's because he is known as the My Pillow guy. He's a prominent denier that the 2020 election was actually won by Joe Biden. Clay, talk to me about that race. Yeah, Mike Lindell was sucking up a lot of the oxygen in that primary race. And it was largely a three-way race between Lindel and the Speaker of the Minnesota House, Lisa Damath, and Kendall Qualls, who is a businessman and had the endorsement of the Republican Party in Minnesota. Lisa Dameth ultimately won yesterday, despite Trump having backed Mike Lindell and also despite the fact that the Republican Party didn't endorse her as well. And what's noteworthy about Lisa Damath is that she has been at the helm of the Minnesota House of Representatives the last two years where there has been a evenly split Republicans and Democrats in that chamber. So 67 Democrats, 67 Republicans.

And so she has had to make deals with the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives here in Minnesota to get anything passed. And listeners might remember that the Democrat, the first year in that was the late Melissa Hortman, who was assassinated in the summer of 2025. And so Lisa Damath didn't have the backing of the president, didn't have the backing of the Republican Party, but had the financial advantage and had the kind of establishment lane and was able to beat out the Trump. backed my pillow guy. I mean, he faced questions about his residency requirements from his own party, the Republican Party of Minnesota. So they were actively trying to get him to not be a candidate. And much like his 2020 election denialism, he's saying that the results from last night here in Minnesota are suspicious and he's going to be investigating it and challenging it. Yeah. And the same electorate who picked Michelle Tofoya, the more moderate candidate in that Senate race, then also nominates the more moderate candidate in the governor's race. That said, on the Democratic side, U.S. Senator, the senior senator from Minnesota,

Amy Klobuchar stopped any competition. And she's well liked in the state generally. Yeah, it really wasn't a competition. Senator Klobuchar quickly got into the race when Governor Tim Walls announced that he was not going to seek a third term. He got out of the race. He said it was because of wanting to continue to manage state government and deal with fraud in Minnesota and not have to be running a campaign. Senator Klobuchar quickly threw her hat in the ring. The party endorsed her. And I should note, too, like at the convention for the Democrats here in Minnesota, down in Rochester, Minnesota, I was talking with people about, you know, so she's well liked in Minnesota. You say, Tam, but it was funny how many people I was like, so are you excited about Amy Klobuchar running for governor? And I'd get kind of. a shrug and like one guy was like, yeah, I got her, I got her pen on, you know. It's like she's just been, she's been around so long in such a part of politics here in Minnesota. She's a fixture and she cleared the field. That's right. We're going to move a little south and a little, a lot east. Okay. I really had to picture the whole U.S. map when I said that. This is a geography

lesson here on the NPR Politics podcast. It actually is and we're not done yet. Trump's pick in South Carolina, which is where we're headed next. Trump's pick did advance in that special primary for Senate. This was the race to decide who will replace Senator Lindsey Graham, who recently passed away. Trump backed Graham's sister, Darlene Graham. She didn't get a solid majority, though. How surprised were you by this, Tim? Yeah. And South Carolina has a system where there are runoffs if a candidate does not exceed 50% of the vote in a primary. And so she is now headed for a runoff. off with Congressman Ralph Norman. And, you know, in a lot of ways, it isn't surprising. This was a really crowded field. Trump attempted to clear the field and he failed. He endorsed Arlene Graham very

early, but other people were quick to jump in anyway, including the state's former governor, a couple of members of Congress. I guess the state's former governor is also a former member of Congress. Anyway, crowded field, Darlene Graham, did not clear that field. And so now there will be a runoff. One thing I'm watching for is, you know, President Trump now officially has a history in South Carolina of endorsing one candidate in the primary. And then when that person goes to the runoff, this happened in the governor's race, he endorsed them both. So I will be watching to see if the president reads the writing on the wall and changes his indebtors. endorsement in any way.

One more pivot here, you guys, and we're going to go north. We're going to talk about one more reason. That was the primary for Connecticut's first congressional district. This one was a bit of an upset. Tam, walk me through it. Well, this is a classic case of something we have seen in a number of Democratic primaries this election season, where an older incumbent who has been in office forever. In this case, John Larson had been in Congress.

since 1999. He was ousted by a younger candidate who ran on change. And Luke Bronen is the former Hartford mayor. And, you know, he ran on generational change and he got it with a strong majority. I think that when this entire election is over, there will be a decent amount of generational change in Congress. There have been record number of retirements and then also a number of incumbents being ousted in primaries. You know, part of that is probably a hangover from the Joe Biden of it all. But I think another part of it is that people are just done. Voters are done. They are saying like, hey, this hasn't worked. Should we really keep doing the exact same thing again and again? Or should we try new blood? Well, the Joe Biden of it all, and I'll also point out the sitting president, Donald Trump of it all and his age.

But a lot of change also coming for Republicans, too. Washington's about to look a little different. All right, we're going to leave it there for today. Clay, thank you for being here with us. You're welcome. I'm Deepa Shiverom. I cover the White House. I'm Tamara Keith. I cover politics. And thank you for listening to the NPR Politics Podcast.