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· collected 2026-08-19 · by Colin Reed
Democratic Senate candidate Abdul el-Sayed in Michigan had old campaign statements deleted by his team, which included criticisms of fireworks and football. In related news, Democratic Socialist candidate Francesca Hong in Wisconsin's gubernatorial primary faced scrutiny over her past social media commentary, including support for canceling Thanksgiving. Hong came within 4,000 votes of winning the nomination. The article argues that these candidates' radical views are a result of their participation in the "digital age," where social media allows uninhibited expression without considering future electoral consequences.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-19,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
This summer, as millions of Americans were enjoying fireworks or gearing up for the fall football season, the campaign of the Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan was scrambling to cover up past statements denouncing both.
asserted
campaign → enjoy → both
You read that right: the campaign of Abdul el-Sayed was caught red-handed by CNN erasing hot takes declaring that "fireworks suck" and linking football to slavery.
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fireworks → read → slavery
On one hand, you can’t blame him.
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you → blame → him
El-Sayed is running for statewide office in Michigan, which voted for President Donald Trump twice in the last decade.
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which → run → decade
On the other, if character is what counts when no one is watching, el-Sayed has shown who he is.
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he → count → other
Voters should believe him.
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Voters → believe → him
To be fair, he’s not the only candidate navigating the collision course between a hard-left worldview and the political realities of getting elected in a center-right country.
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he → ’ → country
In neighboring Wisconsin, Francesca Hong, the Democratic Socialist candidate, came up just short in her gubernatorial primary.
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Hong → neighbor → primary
Unlike el-Sayed, her past social media commentary surfaced before Election Day, including her support for canceling Thanksgiving.
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commentary → surface → Thanksgiving
Down the home stretch, Hong’s campaign was overrun with similar questions about some of her past and current extreme views.
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campaign → overrun → views
At one point, the candidate even declared Thanksgiving her "favorite" holiday, but the damage was done.
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damage → declare → point
While some expressed surprise at the narrow margin, the more appropriate question is how Hong came within roughly 4,000 votes of grabbing the nomination in one of America’s most purple states.
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Hong → express → states
One of the leaders of this movement, New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has deployed a creative tactic when faced with questions about her past views, saying that "Woke 1.0 was crazy."
There are at least three reasons these seemingly unelectable candidates are driving the national conversation this summer.
First, an empowered activist class is stepping up and filling the void of a party in need of new ideas, leaders and voices.
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class → deploy → ideas
The Democratic Party is still reckoning with the scars of the previous election.
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Party → reckon → election
Until it has reckoned with and acknowledged the mistakes of the past, moving forward becomes difficult.
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moving → reckon → past
Second, this new crop of candidates grew up in the digital age.
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crop → grow → age
Anyone has a platform to pop off on the news of the day without giving it a great deal of thought.
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Anyone → have → thought
Or how it will look under the glare of a future political campaign.
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it → look → campaign
One of the leaders of this movement, New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has deployed a creative tactic when faced with questions about her past views, saying that "Woke 1.0 was crazy."
This phenomenon is not limited to one political party or ideology, either.
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phenomenon → deploy → party
Any first-time candidate would be wise to audit and clean up their online presence before embarking on their journey into public life.
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candidate → audit → life
Finally, and most importantly, many of these sentiments are consistent with the core principle of socialism taking hold within the American left.
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principle → take → left
At its core, socialism believes that the American experiment is over and the dream is dead.
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dream → believe → core
Proponents of socialism want voters to believe it’s all about free health care, free pre-K and free college.
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it → want → care
New York City, under the Mamdani administration, is even pursuing government-run grocery stores.
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City → pursue → stores
They present their ideology as merely a means of righting the economic wrongs in our country, and duck questions about rgw price tag or practicality with vague platitudes about making the wealthy "pay their fair share."
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wealthy → present → share
It’s no secret the GOP faces a challenging midterm electorate.
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GOP → ’ → electorate
Early voting starts in some states in a matter of weeks.
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voting → start → weeks
Trump is not on the ballot, and the ongoing conflict in Iran has bogged down his approval ratings.
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conflict → bogge → ratings
Republicans’ best case may well be not just that woke 1.0 was crazy, but it never left the building.
uncertain
it → wake → building
Old social media posts and videos can be taken down, but the insight into the world view on philosophy remains – and it’s downright chilling.
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it → take → philosophy
