WASHINGTON ― Democrats spanning the party’s ideological spectrum and the nation’s geography are launching electoral challenges to the party’s establishment, turning a much-discussed insurgency against a party whose approval ratings are at record lows into a reality.
A sitting governor is entering a key Senate race with no guarantee of victory against a candidate who was totally unknown just three months ago. A 30-year-old activist-turned-state legislator is running against a longtime incumbent in a bright blue House district. Three Senate candidates in the same race brought in significant fundraising hauls, showing the establishment’s pick is not guaranteed a free walk to the party’s nomination.
All are evidence of a movement against party leadership’s dominance of key primaries and bets Democratic voters are looking for something new after President Donald Trump’s victory in 2024.
“Most of our base finds the current position of the Democratic Party out of touch on class, out of touch on values and moral clarity, out of touch on the desire to fight back and the ability to fight back,” said Tommy McDonald, a Democratic media consultant with Fight Agency, a firm working with many of the party’s insurgent candidates. “A lot of people are feeling like there is a problem and that now is the time to fix it.”
