(CNN) The progressive left movement vaulted into the national spotlight by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in June suffered a series of setbacks at the hands of Democratic establishment-backed candidates across the Midwest on Tuesday.

Hoping to build on the momentum set in motion by the New Yorker's stunning defeat of Rep. Joe Crowley, insurgent candidates in Michigan, Missouri and Kansas notched their share of victories, but there were no major surprises — nearly all the expected winners won -- or dents made in skepticism among party powerbrokers.

In Michigan, where Sen. Bernie Sanders won his signature victory in the 2016 presidential primary, former state Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer routed the insurgent Abdul El-Sayed.

El-Sayed had the blessings of Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, who campaigned for him on consecutive weekends ahead of the primary. But it is Whitmer who, by a considerable margin, will take on Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette in November.

Her opponent, the 33-year-old son of Egyptian immigrants ran on a statewide "Medicare for all" plan, public internet, tuition-free college and his refusal to accept corporate PAC money. Whitmer opposes an immediate push for single-payer health care, calling it "unrealistic" in the current political environment, and hasn't sworn off corporate PAC donations.

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