“The young people are coming” is a promise by a contingent of Democrats that seek to cull wins in the 2026 midterms with fresh faces. But can they save the party from pathetic polling numbers that are setting historical lows?
A PAC (Political Action Committee) named Leaders We Deserve launched a $20 million effort this week aimed at getting young primary challengers against House Democratic incumbents in safe seats. And, a number of young progressive candidates have already launched primary bids against longtime incumbent House Democrats.
The PAC is the brainchild of Democratic National Committee (DNC) Vice Chair David Hogg, who has risen quickly in progressive politics since his days as a gun control advocate leading protests after the 2018 Parkland, Florida, high school mass shooting where he was a student.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is also beating the political bushes to try and solidify a new youth movement with large-scale rallies across the country. She’s accompanied by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) who, at 83, is hardly a visage of youth but still popular with some young people.
The Hill reported Sunday:
Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders have seen massive grassroots fundraising hauls in the off-year cycle. Ocasio-Cortez’s team said she raised more than $9.5 million from 260,000 individual donors, with an average donation of $21. Sanders’s team said he raised $11.5 million in the first quarter of the year.
The perennial Democrat leaders who shaped its direction for years appear to be noticeably missing in action in news coverage and policy discussions as of late.
Since his presidency ended, Joe Biden, 82, has essentially been put out to political pasture. Even many Democrats now consider him a drain on the party.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 85, has not been a presence since she was injured in a fall in Luxembourg last year, followed by a hip replacement.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, 74, may have lost his mojo for good with the further-left members of his caucus for failing to stop a House-drafted budget resolution this month.
Frustration with Democrat status quo has fueled at least four younger primary opponents to challenge long-serving House lawmakers in recent weeks. Included is Pelosi, who is facing a challenge from Saikat Chakbrabarti, a candidate who, at 39, is less than half the former speaker’s age. Chakbrabarti is a veteran of Sanders’s 2016 campaign and a former chief of staff to Ocasio-Cortez.
There is also speculation that Ocasio-Cortez may challenge Schumer for his Senate seat. Progressives such as Hogg and AOC seem to see openings among young voters as well.
According to YouGov polling, young voters’ approval of Trump has fallen since the start of his term, from a net positive 5 percent to a net negative 29 percent as of early April. But according to March CNN polling, Democrats broadly have logged dismal approval ratings in recent weeks, with only 30 percent of voters under age 35 viewing the party favorably.
Hogg said in an interview with the Hill:
The Democratic Party says over and over again ‘we have to care about democracy, we have to care about democracy,’ and we do. But the best way to do that is not just to say we need to care about democracy, it is to use democracy to actively help people improve their lives and show them how democracy is the best vehicle to do that.
Like other political bromides, Hogg’s words are long on idealism and short on specifics.
As Breitbart reported, dozens of Democrat leaders say they have no “coherent message” to fight Trump. The report earlier this year cited a New York Times account that showed after 50 interviews with leaders at private meetings and public events, Democrats “appear leaderless, rudderless, and divided.”
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