On Politics: The left faces its next tests
There are big primary elections tonight in Michigan and beyond. Follow along with our coverage.
On Politics
August 4, 2026
A sign reading "Polling Place" is inserted into a bright orange traffic cone
Kirsten Luce for The New York Times

Good evening. There’s an hour to go before polls close in one of the most closely watched elections of the summer: the Michigan Democratic primary for Senate that has become an ideological battle between Representative Haley Stevens and the former public health official Dr. Abdul El-Sayed.

That’s not the only election we’re watching tonight. Two House contests in Michigan, plus former Representative Cori Bush’s comeback bid in Missouri, feature progressives challenging rival Democrats from the left. The results in all four elections will tell us whether the desire to shake up party politics extends beyond Democrats in deep-blue territory.

Plus, the polls have just closed in Virginia, which is holding its first primary since its tumultuous redistricting battle, and Kansas, where a big battle for the governor’s mansion is in the offing.

Follow our coverage below. And I’ll be back with a special edition of On Politics tomorrow as we make sense of what happened.

— Jess Bidgood

FOLLOW ALONG LIVE

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Nick Hagen for The New York Times

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