Sunday shows preview: Key primary races set stage for tight November battles, Democrats raise concerns over USS Lincoln conditions

Democratic voters are turning out in high numbers for this year's primaries, a trend that has the party optimistic about its chances in November's congressional elections. In Wisconsin, nearly 800,000 Democratic ballots were cast, the highest total for a midterm in over 20 years. This followed a midterm record of 1.5 million Democratic voters in Michigan the previous week. Similar surges in turnout have been seen in Texas and Georgia, states with competitive Senate races.

The enthusiasm among Democratic voters is being attributed to competitive primaries and a desire to counter President Donald Trump's weak approval ratings, persistent inflation, and an unpopular war with Iran. According to David Axelrod, a top adviser to former Democratic President Barack Obama, "The big news is that Democrats are getting huge turnouts. That's been a steady story throughout this period."

In Michigan, progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed narrowly won the Democratic Senate primary two weeks ago, defeating moderate Rep. Haley Stevens. Stevens quickly endorsed El-Sayed after the primary. The strong showings in these primaries have Democrats hopeful about expanding their hold in Congress.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Hill, Associated Press, Winnipeg Free Press — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.