The Hill reported that the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee launched a $20 million initiative to challenge incumbent Democratic legislators in safe districts and bring progressive leaders into Congress.
David Hogg announced on Monday that his group, Leaders We Deserve, has launched a 20 million initiative to fund primary challenges in safe House Democratic districts. The initiative focuses on ushering in a new age of young, progressive candidates.
Hogg, in an interview with The Hill on Wednesday, said: “We are not just focused on targeting Democratic incumbents whenever necessary. We are here for young people running in open seats. We are here to support young people who align with our values and elect them in open seats.”
Hogg said that the campaign is not promoting young Democrats randomly, but those who are “ready to face the moment.”
Hogg said, “Earlier, someone said to me: ‘Oh, you’re here replacing the old with new. I would say that we are here to replace ineffective things with new and effective ones.”
Leaders We Deserve is a group that supports state House candidates aged 30 and under and federal candidates aged 35 and under. The group spent $12,000,000 in the election cycle of 2024 and has significantly increased its spending for this cycle.
Hogg criticised current leaders for allowing issues such as school shootings and climate change to continue. He also said that the challenges faced by young Americans were disproportionately high.
He said, “It is the democratic society that has made that possible. What we must do as a party is demonstrate how we stand up to special interests and fight for the everyday people to deliver for Americans throughout the country.”
Hogg’s organization is targeting incumbents in certain districts, but he stressed that Democrats who hold “frontline” or swing seats would not be challenged.
He said, “There are some members with whom I don’t agree at all. But we must make sure that we keep our majority in Congress.”
He said that the attack is not an all-out assault on blue safe districts.
“The reality is you should not be worried about this if you are a member of Congress, if you are effective like [Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill.], for example, or [former Speaker] Nancy Pelosi. What we are looking at is places where the elected official has not done a great job being effective against [President Donald] Trump.”
The campaign is part of a wave by younger progressives. Jake Rakov, a former Capitol Hill staffer, is running against Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif). Saikat Chakrabarti is a former Pelosi employee and now a tech millionaire. Schakowsky’s primary opponent is progressive media personality Kat Abughazaleh.
“Democrats are united in taking back the majority in the House, and that’s the top focus of the DCCC,” said Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., who is chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
