Mr. Corbin or Ms. Altmann, two of the Legislature's most left-leaning Democrats, could cross party lines and vote for the hard-line Mr. Schmitt.

Many left-leaning Democrats are still firmly attached to the Canadian model or some domestic version of it.

He's a conservative Democrat who's never going to make the left-leaning Democrats happy.

"They said conservative groups rated me as a left-leaning, liberal Democrat, which is simply not true," Mr. Morales said.

Now she can say to left-leaning Democrats, "Well, I tried," and can count, she hopes, on their support as she strives to legislate from the middle.

Conservative Republicans, with the help of some left-leaning Democrats, teamed up on Thursday to derail an immigration bill in the Senate that would have provided a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

On the other side are the left of his own party and the even more left-leaning Liberal Democrats.

Already, 53 members of the Democrats' left-leaning Congressional Progressive Caucus have announced that they will vote no.

He was also the focal point of criticism from left-leaning Democrats for the administration's perceived move to the center.

A Republican, Alan Schlesinger, will also be on the ballot, and the candidates are competing for a wide spectrum of voters, not just left-leaning Democrats.