Abdul El-Sayed offers a template for Democrats to defeat Trumpism | Peter Beinart

The candidate has crafted a progressive nationalism and shown his party how to turn Republicans’ financial advantage against themEvery now and then, a Senate race sets the direction for an entire party. In 1991, a state official named Harris Wofford – advised by a foul-mouthed Cajun named James Carville – upset his far better-known Republican opponent to win a special election in Pennsylvania. He did it by promising to expand access to healthcare – and thus created a template for Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign the following year.If Abdul El-Sayed can follow up his victory in last night’s Democratic senate primary by winning the general election in Michigan this fall, he will have created a template of his own. Despite his closer-than-expected margin of victory, his campaign offers a