Author: elenajarm1

Down with Career Politics: What The Democratic Party Can Learn From Progressives and Democratic Socialists | By Elena Jarm

elenajarm1

If you’ve kept up with the Democratic primary elections over the summer, or have simply paid attention to the notifications from the New York Times subscription you’ve forgotten you had, then you’ve heard or read about the election of progressive Democratic candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed. Dr. El-Sayed won the Democratic primary for the Michigan Senate seat against moderate candidate Haley Stevens. This win upset people on the right as well as moderates on the left.1 

An issue that the Democratic Party seems to be having, especially seen in the 2024 presidential election, is that the Party is diversely divided and that the Democratic National Committee is vastly unorganized.2 In addition to an internal divide, it’s clearly evident that the Democratic and Republican parties are increasingly polarized, especially as the Republican Party pushes further right. This measure of asymmetric polarization– polarization that occurs due to the Republican Party moving farther to the right than the Democratic Party has moved left– has benefitted the Republican Party.3 Republican congressional players respond to the policy needs that correspond with the rhetoric that’s reinforced within the Party, strengthening their support by conservative constituents.4

Increasingly, Republicans have benefitted from a more unified platform that has shifted more to the ideological right. As a response to this partisan shift away from centrist policies, there is an increased prominence of progressive politicians, such as Dr. El-Sayed, and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). The DSA is a direct response to this pull away from the center– it’s the Democrats’ turn to pay attention to why this shift is necessary for their Party. 

The DSA is further to the ideological left compared to more moderate Democrats. They are fighting for “working people” as they believe the working class “should run both the economy and civil society.”5  In contrast, traditional Democrats believe that “every American deserves a fair shot at the American dream.”6 This American Dream is more centered on ideas of affordable and upward economic mobility as opposed to the DSA’s view of flourishing, through changing the systems, rather than simply surviving within the system. 

As the American people are voting for more candidates in the DSA, the Democratic Party should take a moment to reflect upon the implications of the polls. It’s no secret that the working class is becoming more distraught with the Democratic Party– support from working-class workers is split between Democrats and Republicans, neither having a majority.7 The working class is a major proportion of the population that still feels underrepresented by career politicians on both sides of the political aisle. In response to this despondency, many people are starting to feel represented by the DSA and other progressives who believe in the working class. Especially those who  are taking the initiative to address working-class issues directly. 

The most popular stream of support for a DSA member has been visible in New York City with Mayor Mamdani. Mamdani’s policies focus on the working-class, everyday New Yorker.8 On a city-wide level, he has instituted change and has become an online phenomenon. Since then, Democratic margins have increased. In fact, in a study done by the New York Times, 31% of eligible US voters stated that they had a very or somewhat favorable opinion of socialist policies.9 As socialism is becoming more popular amongst voters, it’s easy to question why the Democratic Party is not more accepting of this apparent shift. 

It is worth noting that this same study revealed that 50% of eligible voters believe the Democratic Party is too far to the left. However, out of that 50%, only 17% of respondents who felt this way were Democrats.10 Meaning that Democrats are willing to vote for progressive members, but not all American voters feel represented by them.  

Since there has been an increase in visibility and support for the DSA, perhaps career Democrats need to do what Republicans have been doing: take advantage of the asymmetric polarization. If the Republican Party has found success in a further shift to the ideological right, then Democrats need to take a shift to the ideological left if they want to push for unity within their Party. Democrats need to pay attention to why voters have been favoring progressive and socialist candidates– working-class Americans want direct support and outreach. That representation can lead to a more unified Party platform through a reevaluation of Party standards. Ultimately, this representation and a drawback from career politicians would be in the Democratic Party’s best interest. 

  1. Peoples, Steve. 2026. “Democratic strategist breaks down DNC’s 2024 election autopsy.” PBS, May, 2026. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/democratic-strategist-breaks-down-dncs-2024-election-autopsy.
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  2. Goldmacher, Shane. 2026. “Moderate Democrats Prepare for ‘War’ Against an Ascendant Left.” The New York Times, August, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/us/politics/democratic-party-socialists-moderates.html.
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  3. Fishkin, Joseph, and David E. Pozen. “Asymmetric Constitutional Hardball.” Columbia
    Law Review 118, no. 3 (2018): 915–82. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26397699.
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  4. Leonard, Naomi Ehrich, Keena Lipsitz, Anastasia Bizyaeva, Alessio Franci, and Yphtach Lelkes. “The Nonlinear Feedback Dynamics of Asymmetric Political Polarization.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 118, no. 50 (2021): 1–11. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27112692.
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  5. Democratic Socialists of America. n.d. “What is Democratic Socialism?” Accessed September 16, 2026. https://www.dsausa.org/about-us/what-is-democratic-socialism/.
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  6. Democratic Party. n.d. “What We’re Fighting For – Democrats.” Accessed September 16, 2026. https://democrats.org/what-were-fighting-for/.
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  7. Wiederkehr, Anna. 2026. “Poll: Working class voters are still up for grabs.” Politico. https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/31/working-class-voters-midterms-poll-01054992.
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  8. “Mayor Mamdani Launches First-in-the-Nation Office of Worker Power to Support Labor Organizing.” 2026. NYC.gov.
    https://www.nyc.gov/mayors-office/news/2026/09/mayor-mamdani-launches-first-in-the-nation-office-of-worker-powe.
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  9. The New York Times. 2026. “Cross-Tabs: September 2026 Times/Siena Poll of the Likely Electorate.” The New York Times, September 15, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/09/15/polls/times-siena-poll-likely-voter-crosstabs.html.
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  10. The New York Times. 2026. “Cross-Tabs: September 2026 Times/Siena Poll of the Likely Electorate.” The New York Times, September 15, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/09/15/polls/times-siena-poll-likely-voter-crosstabs.html.
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