Will Michigan Rewrite the Rules of Democratic Politics?

About this episode

<p>In Michigan, a race for U.S. Senate is not only testing the growing appeal of left-wing populism. It could also be a turning point in a long-running debate among Democratic voters about the importance of electability.</p> <p>Michael Kruse, who writes about politics for The New York Times, traveled to Michigan with the producers Asthaa Chaturvedi and Anna Foley of “The Daily” to speak to voters and campaign volunteers.</p> <p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/michael-kruse" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Michael Kruse</strong></a>, a politics reporter for The New York Times.</p> <p>Background reading: </p> <ul> <li>Michigan’s tense Democratic Senate race <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/us/michigan-senate-primary-democrats-el-sayed-stevens.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">poses a big test for a divided party</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/27/us/politics/el-sayed-michigan-senate.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Can a progressive win in a purple state?</a> Abdul El-Sayed wants to find out.</li> </ul> <p>Photo: Nic Antaya for The New York Times</p> <p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>nytimes.com/thedaily</strong></a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p> <p><p>Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.</p></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>