There’s nothing new about wedge politics. The formula is actually pretty simple. One party identifies a small number of issues subject to debate within the opposition party, and then emphasizes those issues in their campaign messaging to separate voters from the other side. Republican consultant Lee Atwater used this strategy in the 1980s, culminating in Ronald Reagan’s 49-state landslide reelection in 1984.

Today, Democrats are facing another wedge campaign problem, but this time it’s different. The party has for decades engaged in identity politics involving race, sex, religion, and social class, and their strategy is now coming full circle as socialism and communism continue their ascendancy among the party’s base. Democrats are now confronted by wedges of their own design, and they imperil their midterm election prospects.

The Michigan primary election Tuesday is a case study of how socialist ideology has metastasized from isolated pockets of cities and urban congressional districts to an entire state. Abdul El-Sayed may have narrowly secured the Democrat nomination for Senate this week, but in doing so, his victory revealed the power of socialism within the party.

El-Sayed does not call himself a socialist; he claims to be a progressive........

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