By Don Varyu, August 9, 2026

America’s had a lot of political parties. There were the Whigs, the Free Soil, and (my favorite) the wonderfully self-aware Know Nothings. Thomas Jefferson created the “Democratic-Republican Party” (I guess proving bipartisanship never lasts). Sometimes parties are remade, but keep the same name; see “MAGA” and “Republican.”

And right now, that same type of metamorphosis is roiling the Democratic Party. It will keep its name, but after the victory of Abdul Al-Sayed in the Michigan Democratic senatorial primary…it will never look the same.

And that’s a good thing.

Al-Sayed’s win is properly seen as a landmark in the rise of socialism in America. Previously, the earth-shaking victory of socialist Zohran Mamdani as New York City’s mayor could be seen as something of a one-off”—a result that conservatives said, “could only happen in a far left, radical city.” But Al-Sayed did not win among voters of just a single city; instead it occurred across an entire state—and a swing one, at that. And this happened again with the primary victory of socialist Francesca Hong to run for governor of Wisconsin. What those conservatives said could never happen—did.

But these candidates, and other socialists now need to navigate more difficult waters. They will not win without the support of Democratic voters; and Democrats now need socialist voters to achieve their midterm and 2028 goals. For both, there are vexing questions and realities to confront. First, for the socialists:

WHO ARE YOU RUNNING AGAINST?

· The existing Democratic “party establishment” is sclerotic, in some ways corrupt, and decidedly a failure. It’s managed to run two outstanding candidate--Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris—only to see both lose to a monster named Donald Trump. Socialists were right to demand a change in course, and now they’re in a position to help chart a new route.

· Consequently, socialists need to agree that the old-line establishment is no longer their target. Stop smugly maligning “blue MAGA.” Stop demonizing “old people.”. Your target now is every Republican running against you. Keep asking him/her to defend support for Trump—or publicly drenounce him. Trump is wounded and dangerous. But Goliath is also vulnerable.

· At some point, you’re going to need to start policing your own ranks. Demands to shut all prisons, to erase all borders, calling Joe Biden a “rapist” and saying America “deserved” 9/11are jarring—and stupid. I know some of these statements have been taken out of context, and others retracted (often not until years later). But this kind of nonsense is guaranteed to deflate your ability to win elections (see “defund the police.”). Of course, people have every right to state these things; but you have an equal right (and obligation) to reject them--in real time. Waiting long enough to “rethink” is too late.

VOTE vs. LEAD

· Mayors, governors, and presidents are elected to lead. Senators, representatives, and commissioners are elected to vote. They’re all politicians—but have two different jobs.

· Be careful who you think can lead. Mamdani may be a “unicorn”, so gifted as a communicator that he can paper over his lack of experience as a leader.

· That’s rare. In Seattle, the new socialist mayor is so inept and ungrounded that she comes across as a middle schooler suddenly suddenly called on to stand up and summarize a chapter she didn’t read.

As the gifted Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat asked, what happens when populist voters decide to, “…take a flier on (a) candidate who’s never held any government role?

It’s how we got Donald Trump.”

GOALS vs. ACTIONS

· Centrist Democrats and the DSA already agree on a lot. Their platforms both call for solutions on health care, housing, childcare, the climate crisis, jobs and wages, and reducing the influence of individual and corporate wealth on both the economic and political systems. Good stuff!

· But no chasm is wider than the one between a good idea and good execution. The DSA does have some specific calls to action (32-hour work week, blocking further economic and military aid to Israel). But as is the case with the national Democratic Party platform (as of 2024), there is a wealth of goals with few specifics. Those specific proposals (to me) were the secret sauce in Mamdani’s victory. His stated actions included three government-run grocery stores in the city’s “food deserts”…free bus service…and increased “pied-a-terre” property taxes on rich people’s second homes. These tangible, actionable things gave people a reason to vote. They weren’t just ideas. Specifics will cause controversy; but that controversy will help shape national arguments we should be having.

WHAT TO DO IN 2028?

· Accept the fact that YOU CAN NOT WIN A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. It’s too soon. No matter who you run or what you say, America decidedly is NOT READY YET.

· However, that doesn’t mean you can’t influence the outcome of the election, in precisely the ways you want. An effective socialist candidate running in the Democratic primaries can state positions that will resonate with many voters and force rivals to respond with reasons for either supporting or opposing those positions.(Bernie Sanders has already proved this.) And the votes won in those primaries will create leverage in the attention of the party electors…and the media. In blunt terms, this means a priceless boost in brand power.

· Then, at the appropriate moment, have your candidate drop out. Every Democratic rival will thirst for your voter support. At which point you broke on the basis of which of your proposed actions those candidates will adopt. That’s your benchmark for victory in 2028.

· And above all, you cannot risk your candidate coming across as inauthentic. For example, Bernie Sanders was the furthest thing from polished, but many people not only liked what he said, but knew he believed it. Thus—I kow, this last suggestion is likely to really rankle you—STAY FAR AWAY FROM AOC! You may disagree, but she comes across to the wider population of voters as a false prophet, an empty vessel, and is absolute poison for your movement. Her single political skill is finding a parade and marching in front of it I’ve previously laid out my larger concerns with her.

So far, I’ve addressed members of the DSA and other socialist candidates. Too repeat what I said above, I applaud their successes becausewhat they’re saying is exactly what the centrist Democratic party needs to hear. It’s time to stop shutting ears to people under 40.

The Democratic party establishment is a failure because it keeps playing by the wrong rules of engagement; in effect, rules borrowed directly from the GOP playbook. That includes slavishly listening too much to the professional strategists and pollsters…focusing on the wrong messages…and above all, obsessing over raising money!

What has all that gotten you? In 2024, Kamala Harris raised HALF A BILLION DOLLARS MORE than Trump! Money is not the magic answer anymore—messaging is.

In order to improve their chances, the Democratic party establishment needs to listen and adopt a lot of what the DSA is saying. Yes, some of it is crazy. But so was your decades-long obsession with identity politics…while giving only lip service to exactly the same economic realities that gave rise to the DSA in the first place.

The centrists and the left will have arguments—and they should! No one has all the answers.

So, listen to each other.

And then win together.

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3 Things

The Democrats Are Dead. Long Live The Democrats.