During the 1960s, activists under the age of 25 rejected the time-tested notion of incremental progress. They believed it was their generation’s duty to force societal change. When a reporter asked a young political activist during the Free Speech Movement at the University of California, Berkeley, who the elders behind their organization were, the activist said, “We don’t trust anyone over 30.”
David Hogg, a Democratic National Committee vice chair, is 25 years old and does not trust anyone over the age of 35.
In 2018, Hogg was a senior at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida when a horrific shooting occurred on campus, killing 17 people and injuring 18. Hogg emerged from that tragedy as a gun control activist. In 2023, Hogg co-founded the grassroots organization Leaders We Deserve. LWD’s purpose is to elect people under 35 to Congress and under 30 to state legislatures. According to the LWD website, the average politician is older than the average American, which skews the political system in favor of older people and against young people.
Hogg was elected as a DNC vice chair in February. He promised to reclaim the young voters who abandoned the Democratic Party to support the Republicans. Many moderate Democrats believed Hogg was not suitable for the position due to his history of far-left rhetoric and involvement with LWD.
All of the newly elected DNC officials pledged not to interfere in party primaries and instead focus on electing Democrats in swing districts. Moderate and progressive Democrats have previously “primaried” one another in an attempt to change the party’s direction, but they have now declared a truce to retake the House.
Hogg did not sign the pledge, and he is not interested in the truce.
According to Politico, Hogg called his fellow DNC officers to warn them that LWD will fund primary challenges to old and ineffective Democrats in safe blue districts. Certain DNC leaders, Democratic strategists, and Democratic members of Congress criticized Hogg’s plan as reckless and complained about his dual role as an activist and party representative.
An adviser to a senior Democrat claimed that top Democrats are furious with Hogg. Hogg can either “work within the party and try to make it better” or “work on the outside and be more aggressive about it,” but it’s unclear how Hogg will reconcile the distinct roles. The top leaders are unaware that Hogg is unable to distinguish between the role of activist and party representative.
How could he?
Following the school shooting, Hogg’s gun control activism gained him the national spotlight, and he was named in 2018 as one of TIME magazine’s 100 influential people. However, what influenced Hogg the most was the upheaval in Democratic Party politics, which was led by young, charismatic, progressive candidates who upset incumbents in the 2018 Democratic primaries.
The Brookings Institute released a report titled “Progressives versus the Establishment: What’s the Score, and Does It Matter?” In 2014, 60 progressive candidates ran for office across the country, but Barack Obama was still president. In 2018, Donald Trump was president, the resistance against Trump was at its height, and a record 280 non-incumbent, self-identified progressive candidates ran for office. 81 progressives defeated Democratic incumbents or advanced to runoffs.
The progressive gains did not result in the expected takeover of the Democratic Party, but they did generate new national leaders, and four women were dubbed “the squad.” These four progressive women captured attention because they were activists as well as legislators.
Hogg modeled himself after these squad leaders.
Joe Biden was president during the 2022 midterms, but the progressive/moderate Democrat battle continued, with The Hill reporting, “Progressives’ strong midterm showing has inspired new confidence on the left about what may be possible in the future.” Democratic strategist Michael Starr Hopkins stated, “Leading up to the midterms, there was a whole conversation about what a liability the progressives were for Democrats. The narrative was that moderates were the saviors of the party. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.”
Starr spoke too early.
The Democrats lost momentum after Biden withdrew from the presidential race, and many people lost confidence in the Democratic Party after Trump defeated Kamala Harris for the presidency in 2024. Democratic Party leaders are working tirelessly to restore their reputation and recover the trust of the voters. Infighting among progressive and moderate Democrats will slow the rebuilding effort.
Even the squad’s most prominent member, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, told Democrats that she will no longer support congressional primary challenges against her colleagues. According to Politico, Ocasio-Cortez’s statement represented a departure for the vocal progressive, who entered Congress by primarying a Democratic leader and has backed progressive challenges to moderate Democratic lawmakers.
Hogg took up Ocasio-Cortez’s previous role of challenging moderate Democrats in primary elections so that progressives could take control of the Democratic Party. Jay Jacobs, chair of the New York Democratic Party, argued that launching an internal campaign to purge incumbents who Hogg does not believe are progressive enough will be counterproductive.
The problem with Hogg’s dual role as activist and party representative is that his activism serves a long-term vision but is counterproductive for the party’s short-term goals. Democratic officials above 40 are attempting to persuade Hogg to focus on being productive as a party representative, but Hogg does not trust anyone over 35.
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