Amid the development of the Democratic primaries to elect candidates to run in the U.S. midterm elections in November, Francesca Hong (Korean name Hong Yoon-jung), a "progressive candidate" who challenged Wisconsin's governor, lost after a close race.

However, the fact that the race was divided by thousands of votes with Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who was supported by the Democratic Party leadership, revealed the Democratic Party's immediate challenges ahead of the midterm elections. As progressive Democratic Party candidates such as Democratic Socialists (DSA) are rapidly gaining popularity, they are in a situation where they have to absorb their arguments into party policy in some way.

Hong was about 3,200 votes behind Crawley in the Democratic primary for governor of Wisconsin, where 99% of the votes were counted as of 9:30 a.m. Eastern time on the 12th. Reuters quoted Decision Desk HQ, a U.S. election site, as saying that Crowley's victory is predicted.



Hong, who refers to himself as a democratic socialist, has consistently given Crawley the upper hand in opinion polls. A poll (State Navigate) conducted on the 3rd and 6th ahead of the primary election showed a gap of more than 22 percentage points.

However, contrary to expectations, the actual race was a close game.

Progressive candidates from the DSA have made a splash in primaries based on voters' discontent with the Democratic Party. Previously, democratic socialist affiliations had been strong in progressive cities such as New York and Denver, but in Michigan, one of the biggest contenders, Abdul Elsayed was recently elected to the Democratic nomination for federal Senate.

As a result, much attention was paid to whether candidate Hong will continue the DSA's gust.

U.S. election strategists have questioned whether Hong will be able to win the midterm elections in November even if he wins the primary by targeting key Democratic supporters. The Republican candidate to face off in the general election is U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany, who is supported by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The New York Times (NYT) previously said that many people think Hong is too liberal to appeal to moderate voters, given that Wisconsin is a competitive state where centrist Democrats have been successful.

Some say that Hong's unexpected defeat, which led by a wide margin in the opinion polls, may have reflected the sense of alertness toward progressive candidates from the DSA in the Democratic Party, who were concerned about "progress." Candidate Hong has become a hot topic with his unconventional pledges such as the 32-hour workweek and the national medical insurance.

Rebecca Cook was elected in the Democratic U.S. House of Representatives race in Wisconsin's 3rd District. Cooke was endorsed by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (Independent, Vermont), the "head" of the DSA.

In Minnesota, where the Democratic Party tends to be strong, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan of the progressive wing has been elected as the Democratic Party's candidate for the federal Senate.

The Associated Press reported that Lt. Flanagan defeated moderate U.S. Representative Angie Craig in Minnesota's Senate Democratic primary.

Lt. Gov. Flanagan's victory in the primary will lead the progressive camp to a second consecutive victory, after El Sayed, a progressive Muslim, beat the moderate candidate in Michigan's Democratic Senate primary on the 4th.

Federal Senator Amy Klobuchar was elected as the candidate in the Democratic primary for governor of Minnesota held on the same day.

In the Republican primary for South Carolina's Senate candidate, Darlene Graham Nordon, the sister of the late former federal senator Lindsey Graham, advanced to the final round.

The election will be held to fill the vacancy of former congressman Graham, who was a close aide to President Trump.

[Washington correspondent Choi Seungjin]