In the past week, Graham Platner’s sexual misconduct allegations and disastrous string of scandals have reignited questions on the future of the Democratic party. Many moderate Democrats, such as Ritchie Torres, were quick to take an “i-told-you-so” attitude to Platner’s failure.
However, Platner’s campaign should not be dismissed. He didn’t fail because of his policies or ideology, but because of his personality. Even months after his Nazi tattoo scandal and during a previous sexual misconduct scandal, he was polling 7 points ahead of Susan Collins in three separate polls. Even voters in Maine, a state with a Republican senator, were in support of his progressive policies.
And yet, moderate Democrats seemed ready to paint Platner’s campaign as a failure of progressivism. Yes, progressive Democrats certainly overlooked Platner’s past, but his policies were attractive to voters.
This leads to the bigger question of whether the Democrats will be able to create some kind of coalition before the midterms. The party is fracturing right before the most important election until 2028, and the lack of a unified message could hurt Democratic chances, especially if progressives run as Independents and split the vote.
There has also been criticism of progressive candidates, such as Darializa Avila Chevalier, of giving Republicans the ability to paint the Democratic party as extremists. However, should moderate Democrats not be blamed for the current perception of the Democratic party?
Democrats failed to defeat Trump in 2024, and didn’t have an offensive front until months after he was inaugurated. They also shut out Bernie Sanders from a nomination in 2020, and have continuously pushed the status quo onto Democratic voters, of whom only 62% view their party positively. Approval of congressional Democrats is even lower, at 24%.
Democrats have also failed to materialize Donald Trump’s unpopularity into votes. Even when Trump was at -20% approval, the congressional ballot only favored Democrats by 6%.
It is clear that Democrat voters are ready for change. However, progressives must also acknowledge that a significant portion of the base remains moderate. A record high of 59% of Democrats describe themselves as liberal, but 39% are either “moderate” or “conservative”. This means that although progressives might be able to win in House elections, or possibly in the Senate, a future presidential victory is still far off.
The most pressing issue is that neither progressives or moderates are interested in creating a coalition before the midterms. Progressives routinely campaign on the failures of moderate Republicans and are quick to condemn their moderate counterparts, and moderates point to perceived extremism among progressive candidates.
Democrats will most likely win the House, even with the divides within their party. This is a result of the unpopular Trump administration, not popular Democratic policies. Democrats must have a cohesive economic message if they want to win over disaffected Independent voters. If this isn’t achieved by 2028, chances of a Democratic president bill are less likely.
This means that either one side of the party, either the progressives or moderates, must be victorious, or both factions must find a way to collaborate. The least damaging outcome is some kind of collaboration to create an identity for the Democratic party. The Democrats cannot just be the party against Trump, they have to stand for something as well.