Is David Hogg Democrats' Nightmare, or Savior?
David Hogg has a radical plan to revitalize the moribund Democratic brand: get rid of some of the party’s oldest lawmakers. More than a few party leaders aren’t pleased. Hogg is promising to spend millions of dollars to run primary campaigns against Democratic incumbents. It is an effort to boost young liberals into office who can inject the party with the sense of urgency he says it lacks in confronting President Trump’s power grabs while doing more to cater to the needs of young Americans. The problem for party leaders is that Hogg is a vice chairman of the national party.
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“The only good politician is one that is scared of potentially losing their job,” Hogg said in an interview. “We need to light a fire under people’s asses to step up to the plate.” He said he would focus on defeating “ineffective,” older lawmakers in Democrat-heavy districts in which the primary winner is assured of election, rather than on competitive, swing districts. His PAC has endorsed one candidate so far for an open seat in the Chicago area, but said more are coming.
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Moreover, many centrist Democrats say Hogg is promoting a performative style of politics that emphasizes issues that have little salience for swing voters. Focusing on Trump’s efforts to consolidate power and self-enrichment might answer the hunger of core Democrats who are angry at the president, but doing so risks further alienating the more-independent voters whom the party needs to win House and Senate seats next year and the White House in 2028.
The voters who decide election outcomes care mostly about the economy, centrists say, and so Democrats should focus on persuading them that Trump has reneged on his promise to improve their household finances. In their view, Hogg is promoting the wrong model of Democratic leadership when he praises the liberal New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or combative lawmakers such as Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, whose unfiltered approach includes recently saying that Democratic donors are consolidating behind the “safest white boy” candidate for the presidential election.
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Hogg said that the candidates backed by his PAC should have a policy profile that fits their districts, and that he asks only that they support gun-control efforts, decline corporate campaign money and support “major” campaign-finance changes. But the PAC website says its goal is to promote progressives. And Hogg himself has taken positions that have drawn complaints from others in the party, including defunding the police and supporting Medicare for All.
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Hogg said he agrees with centrists that the economy is a key issue, which is why he is pushing for a younger generation of candidates who are entering the workforce in the midst of economic uncertainty and with high levels of student debt.
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