A slew of state and federal lawmakers hit headwinds during last week’s primary elections. Some were forced into runoffs; others fell to upstart challengers, sending a warning shot across the political landscape. On the Democratic Party’s side, however, it seemed less of a warning and more of an immediate threat. Entrenched Democrats fear they might be swept aside in an anti-establishment revolt similar to the Republican tea party of 2010.
Democrats Beware
A host of insurgents are mounting primary challenges ahead of midterms, hoping to take on the old guard and upend the status quo. They’re well-funded, hungry for change, and believe the current Democratic Party isn’t doing enough to fight back against President Donald Trump and the GOP. From an outsider perspective, these candidates appear to be more of the same, just your average progressives, only with more zeal and a penchant for anti-establishment rhetoric.
Some might say it all started with Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral win in New York City. More recently, progressive activist Analilia Mejía won an affluent New Jersey district to succeed Gov. Mikie Sherrill in Congress. Mejía was backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). In a 13-candidate party primary, Mejía upset mainstream Democrat and former Rep. Tom Malinowski. She raised just $420,000 to Malinowski's $1.2 million. When Axios asked a senior House Democrat if members were freaking out about their own primaries after Mejía’s shocking win, the lawmaker replied, “Yes.”
Mamdani and Sanders are also backing former NYC comptroller Brad Lander in New York’s 10th district. Lander, a progressive who is reportedly tired of the billionaire class and sees oligarchy as a primary driver of the affordability crisis, hopes to defeat Dan Goldman, heir to Levi Strauss denim.
Over in Illinois’ Ninth District, Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old Palestinian American, is also waging a battle against the Democratic Party establishment. One of her many supporters is the progressive group largely responsible for the rise of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez back in 2018, Justice Democrats. Its executive director, Alexandra Rojas, described Abughazaleh as “the type of progressive leadership we need in Congress — leadership that isn’t too afraid to take on AIPAC or corporate PACs to defeat right-wing fascism or corporate corruption in the Democratic Party.”
Anti-establishment and anti-corruption are prominent themes in most of these insurgent campaigns, similar to the playbook of Texas state Rep. James Talarico, who just won a Democratic Party primary for US Senate while running an explicitly anti-billionaire, anti-corruption campaign. Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner is another challenger hoping to change the party. He’s looking to upset Maine Governor Janet Mills for a chance to face incumbent Republican Susan Collins. Platner, an oyster farmer who has spouted anti-corruption rhetoric throughout his campaign, is ahead of Mills in two recent primary polls, one by nearly 40 points, a surprising feat considering the blowback he received after it was discovered he had a Nazi-themed tattoo, which he promptly had removed.
These progressive upstarts are also raising big bucks, a trend that worries incumbents and their supporters.
The Undermining
The primaries are drawing tens of millions of dollars from Democrats’ efforts to win back the House. A recent analysis by Axios discovered that at least 30 incumbents have challengers who have raised more than $100,000. And nearly a dozen House Democrats are facing primary challengers who have out-raised them.
The funding these candidates are obtaining is apparently making seasoned Democrats uneasy, but what seems to frighten them more is that many of these challengers “don't care what [House Minority Leader] Hakeem [Jeffries] thinks, they care what AOC may think,” a House Democrat close to leadership told Axios. Worse, numerous progressives and outsiders have openly said that, if elected, they wouldn’t commit to supporting Jeffries’ leadership.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is doing what it can to help the establishment by primarily endorsing incumbents, a move challengers have rebuked. The DCCC drew further backlash in February after announcing a dozen endorsements as part of its “Red to Blue” program, which provides funds and organizational support to certain campaigns. All the DCCC-endorsed candidates are the fundraising leaders in their respective primaries.
In response to the endorsements, Emily Berge, the main rival to DCCC-backed Rebecca Cooke in Wisconsin’s third district, put out a fundraising email saying: “DC insiders are trying to undermine our primary process and trying to tell folks here in WI-03 that they know better than we do about what we want in our representative.”
Abughazaleh told The Guardian that local leaders and elected officials call her before endorsing one of her opponents, “apologetically saying, I love what you’re doing but I’m feeling a lot of pressure to endorse this way or the other.”
A Double-Edged Sword
Established Democrats ostensibly want more of the same – conformity – even though their base is begging for the party to change. They’re tired of the “sellouts and suckers,” the “incompetent” and “spineless” Democrats – those are some of the words 13 Democratic voters used to describe the party in an interview with The New York Times.
But these upstarts seem more concerned with opposing Trump than forming realistic policies – so they should fit right in. Most, but not all, are progressives who call themselves “fighters,” which apparently includes fighting members of their own party, a prerequisite for joining the ranks, perhaps.
A wave of insurgents determined to buck the system and defy leadership washing over Congress might be the last thing entrenched Democrats want. But would they rather win back the House and be at the mercy of a group of insatiable rabble rousers or maintain complacency in the minority and be at the mercy of Republicans? Either way, the future for them looks bleak.
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