*Centrist/Conservative Democrat defeats Progressive in primary* "Don't be so unreasonable, you want the Republicans/Trump to win just to 'send a message'!? Just because your candidate didn't win doesn't mean you're being 'excluded.' We need to work together, so unite behind the Democrat."
*Progressive defeats Centrist/Conservative Democrat* "How dare Democrats move (relatively/even slightly) to the left! They're excluding me! I'm voting Republican to send them a message!"
But when was last time centrist/conservative Democrat defeats incumbent progressive Democrat in primary without major scandal against incumbent? Progressives much more often defeat moderates incumbents than the opposite
An incumbent? I’m not sure, there aren’t that many incumbents in the current progressive wing, but I’m sure that it will happen as we get more progressives in local and federal government. Centrist Democrats have quite regularly defeated progressive candidates, even in very liberal areas.
