In this year’s primaries, Democrats are still salivating over serious crazies

Will the Democratic Party turn away from crazy anytime soon? The tea leaves from primaries so far this year are . . . pretty mixed.

Two schools dominate in the debate over how to respond to Donald Trump’s political dominance: Turn back to the center on social policy, Israel, the border, crime and climate — or double down on woke socialism.

Some analysts saw a clear rejection of the loonies in last week’s Illinois primaries, as six hard-left House candidates got knocked out.

But is the message really that clear?

Consider the race for an open seat in the 9th District, consisting of Chicago’s North Side and adjoining suburbs: Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss defeated anti-Israel lefty influencer Kat Abughazaleh, but not by a huge margin — and he’s nearly as woke is she is, and not much more of a Zionist.

The actual moderate, state Sen. Laura Fine, wound up third, despite the backing of (supposedly all-powerful) AIPAC: The Democratic wind on the shores of Lake Michigan is clearly blowing against the Jewish state.

This follows the horrific result in the special-election primary in New Jersey’s 11th District, where rabid leftist Analilia Mejia triumphed. 

She’s a Bernie Sandersista former Working Family Parties chair who wants to impeach Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, impose a $25 national minimum wage, abolish ICE and the Jewish State, too.

Yes, she won as the left-most in an 11-candidate field — but again the runnerup was nearly as bad, and if Democrats vote the party line on April 16, she’s likely to be entrenched in Congress for a long, long time.

Maybe suburban Dems and independents will wise up and back moderate Republican Joe Hathaway; otherwise the Squad will gain a new recruit.

We’ll get more tea leaves in June, including Maine’s Senate primary, pitting ex-Gov Janet Mills, 78 and relatively centrist, against Graham Platner — the Final Boss of contemporary leftism. 

He has it all: An upper-crust background he tries to obscure, like NYC’s own Zohran Mamdani. A job as an oyster farmer that libs figure guarantees working-class appeal . . . plus a Nazi tattoo and a penchant for old-school Jew-haters.

He blithely told podcaster Nate Cornacchia (who blames Israel for the assassination of Charlie Kirk, among other things) he was a “longtime fan.”

A Platner victory over Mills will be a win for the Democratic equivalent of Tucker Carlson Republicans. 

Then again: When someone like Mills — who went to the mattresses with Trump to back biological men playing women’s sports and supports late-term abortions — represents the moderate strain in the party, the fundamentals have shifted. 

Another June race to watch, for California’s 22nd District in the Central Valley, features two up-and-comers duking it out for a shot at GOP Rep. David Valadao: Jasmeet Bains and Randy Villegas. 

Assemblywoman Bains (though young herself) enjoys the backing of the old guard; Villegas, a college prof, is a Mamdani-style lefty with energy and momentum. 

He wants universal family leave and “free” child care, a $25 minimum wage, more socialism in health care and so on; he’s backed by Bernie Sanders and the Working Families Party.

She can point to Assembly votes against the Democratic state establishment, but it apparently still favors her; she’s backed by Big Labor, including SEIU California.

Finally, consider one hot June contest in New York City.

No, not the insane 12th District race with umpteen candidates including Do-You-Know-I’m-a-Kennedy Jack Schlossberg, what-would-you-like-me-to-believe Assemblyman Micah Lasher and Trump-deranged ex-Republican George Conway: Nobody can draw any conclusions from that clownrest.

But in the 10th District, former city Comptroller Brad Lander is trying to take down Rep. Dan Goldman — and the only real difference we can discern is that Lander is a much more dedicated apologist for Israel’s enemies.

That may be enough: The New York Times opted to create a “scandal” over the social-media trail of Goldman’s wife supporting the Jewish state — posts made from Israel in the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7.

Pathetically, Goldman felt compelled to distance himself from his wife: Is there a more damning sign of where the Democratic Party is headed?