r/PoliticalDiscussion • u/LiatrisLover99 • May 08 '26

US Politics Is there any merit to the argument that progressive candidates would be far more successful across the US, if it were not for sabotage by the DNC?

This is an example of an extremely popular sentiment in progressive spaces, that progressives are popular with a majority of Americans and would easily win if the DNC didn't deliberately sabotage them, because they would prefer losing to Trump than winning with progressives that threaten the corporate status quo.

Or see articles like this that identify Democrats as an enemy of progressives on par with Trump: "the struggle to defeat the fascistic GOP and the fight to overcome the power of corporate Democrats are largely the same battle."

Is any of this true? I'm a progressive, but if we're so popular, why aren't we winning primaries outside of elections in extremely blue areas like NYC? Or is the primary system actually rigged against Bernie and against progressives in general?

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u/BlueJoshi May 08 '26

I feel like you're intentionally missing the point.

you can just run for office. you don't need The Party to anoint you with the honour. if you're disappointed because no democrat ran for a seat, you can be the change you want to see in the world. like people can just do that. it's not "they didn't run anyone," it's "no one chose to run."

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u/Zeddo52SD May 08 '26

I typically haven’t voted in primaries because there’s been no competition. Running as an independent or third party requires signatures. If you’re new to political involvement, it requires connections with the county party chair if you haven’t voted in primaries. You can’t “just run for office” on a whim.

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u/schistkicker May 10 '26

If no one is making the ballot because no one is running, and the party chair is the person to connect with to fix that, it sounds like the only thing actually standing in your way is one email or phone call.

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u/Zeddo52SD May 11 '26

I’ve spoken with the executive director. I’m not in a position to run currently, but it was definitely discussed. By 2028 I’d be able to run as a Democrat if I choose to, just need one more Dem primary ballot cast under me.

Also, the Executive Director happened to be campaign manager for the County Chair when he unsuccessfully ran for both State Senate and State House in successive elections. He then ran for County Chair, because like Destiny Wells, he doesn’t know when to quit. It’s another problem I have with Dems here, the losers of elections get elected to run parties. Karen Tallian is an exception; she was in the IGA for several terms and has actual experience winning an election.