Democrats’ vice chair ignites civil war, targeting 'asleep at the wheel' incumbents in primaries
A move by a top Democratic Party official to spend millions of dollars through his outside political group to primary-challenge some older Democrats in blue districts is further igniting intra-party tensions that have rocked the party since President Donald Trump's convincing election last November.
The reverberations started instantly after Leaders We Deserve, a political organization led by recently elected Democratic National Committee (DNC) vice chair David Hogg, announced on Wednesday that it will spend $20 million to help elect younger Democrats. The effort includes supporting primary challengers to House Democrats in safe seats that Hogg argues "are asleep at the wheel."
The move by the 25-year-old Hogg, a survivor of the horrific shooting seven years ago at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in south Florida, to spend money against fellow Democrats is seen as an unprecedented action by a DNC official.
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"There are strong opinions on both sides," a DNC voting member told Fox News Digital.
The voting member, who asked for anonymity to speak more freely, said that "behind the scenes, people are expressing their strong opinions towards each other. There's certainly not a consensus."
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DNC chair Ken Martin, who along with Hogg and other party officials, were elected to their positions at the beginning of February, praised Hogg in a statement but also spotlighted the DNC's longstanding position of staying neutral in primaries.
"David Hogg is a passionate advocate and we are grateful for his service to the Democratic Party, whether it be in his role as a DNC Vice Chair or in an outside capacity," Martin said in his statement.
But Martin added, "In order to ensure we are as effective as possible at electing Democrats to office, it is the DNC's longstanding position that primary voters — not the national party — determine their Democratic candidates for the general election."
The move by Hogg comes as the party's base is angry, and very energized, in fighting back against Trump's sweeping and controversial moves, since returning to the White House three months ago, in upending the federal government and longstanding national policies. That anger is directed not only at Trump and Republicans, but also at Democrats many in the party's base feel haven't been effective or vocal enough in pushing back against the president.
The energy has been evident at town halls this winter and early spring held by both Democratic and Republican members of Congress. And progressive champions Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have drawn very large crowds to their "Fighting Oligarchy" rallies across the country over the past six weeks.
Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez, and other politicians who are leading the fight against Trump — including Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut — have seen a surge in their fundraising over the past three months.
Another leader on the left who has been among those vocal in their resistance to the Trump administration, Rep. Ro Khanna of California, emphasized in a Fox News Digital interview that "we have to have a whole rebrand of the Democratic Party with a coherent platform and a future-oriented platform, and many leaders need to do that, new leaders, not the old guard. And I hope to be part of that."
Khanna, who was interviewed on Tuesday, ahead of Hogg's news, added that "we need Democrats speaking out, not just on the economy. We need them speaking out on civil liberties, on the rights of immigrants and on the rights of universities."
While Democrats are increasingly energized to resist Trump, a slew of national polls earlier this year indicated the favorability ratings of the Democratic Party sinking to all-time lows.
Hogg, in a series of social media posts, pointed to one of those polls as he explained his move.
"The party has hit an all-time low approval rating of 27%," Hogg wrote on X.
And he argued that "too many elected leaders in the Democratic Party are either unwilling or unable to meet the moment and are asleep at the wheel while Trump is demolishing the economy, challenging the foundations of our democracy, and creating new existential crises for our country by the day."
Pointing to Democrats whom his group may target, Hogg said "through all of this, some incumbents will rise to the challenge and emerge stronger. Others will demonstrate why they should be replaced. Either way, we all win. Especially when we are not challenging frontline Democratic incumbents — we all want the House back."
A Democratic Party operative who works on campaigns and who asked to remain anonymous told Fox News Digital that "this is unusual, but we do need some better Democrats in office and there's been a push to have a new generation come in and replace the 70- and-80-year-olds who have been in elective positions and shown that they're not up to the fight."
Chris Moyer, a Democratic strategist and communicator who is a veteran of presidential and statewide campaigns, noted the timing of Hogg's move.
"It's all about how you break through, and the old ways of doing things have not worked. And this is an inflection point," Moyer said. "So it's understandable that there's a desire to get some new blood into important roles and take the party in a more effective direction."
But a DNC voting member who was granted anonymity to speak more freely said that "because we are so close to winning the [House] majority, having that money spent picking up seats to win the majority is probably a better use of the funds."