Not Happening: Why David Hogg Won't Be Purging Veteran Democrats Any Time Soon
Imagine the following scenario.
Your country has been involved in a longstanding civil war. Your veteran generals have been in the fight since the beginning. They've been there through thick and thin. They know the limitations of what they can and know the weaknesses of the opponent. They have a strategy and have decades of experience to back it up. They know the pace at which the war is going might seem slow, but it's more important that their tactics be done right rather than done fast. Their war is calculated in a way that minimizes casualties and works toward the ultimate goal of winning. They may be up there in age, but they have the backing and support of the most loyal members of the fighting forces. That loyalty keeps morale high, even when progress seems hard to come by.
Then comes along an upstart lieutenant. Someone who joined the fight recently and who now feels emboldened to share his views. This lieutenant feels that these longstanding generals have lost their way and should be replaced by younger ones. Despite not having seen the origins or early stages of this war, this lieutenant believes that he knows best. He believes that new leadership is all that is missing from achieving victory. Despite never having been at headquarters when these critical attacks are planned, this lieutenant feels emboldened to proclaim that it is the existing generals who are the problem. With zero regard for morale or the infrastructure of the current campaign, this lieutenant openly states his intent to purge the army of its veteran leadership by bringing in newer, younger generals. At a time when people are fighting for their lives, this lieutenant sees a dramatic leadership shakeup as the only way to achieve victory. He is willing to risk his position to make it so.
While hypothetical, this scenario encapsulates a current uprising in the Democratic Party. Newly elected DNC vice-chair David Hogg has recently pledged $20 million from his Leaders We Deserve PAC to challenge incumbent Democrats in safe blue districts. Hogg's proposed insurgency has drawn the ire of veteran Democrats across the spectrum from DNC Chair Ken Martin to James Carville. At a time when Democrats are a handful of seats away from retaking the House, an internal civil war in the face of rising Republican authoritarianism seems ill-timed at best and downright treacherous at worst. Hogg's proposal to primary veteran Democratic House members in safe blue districts does nothing to impact the 2026 House race, which will be decided in the same 40 swing districts that decided 2024, with early returns in the two Florida House races revealing that an additional 10-15 seats might further be in play due to Trump and Musk's horrendous first 100 days. Creating unnecessary drama in safe blue seats in the last thing Democrats should be doing over these next 18 months.
But this is what happens when Democrats cater to the Far Left. Give them an inch and they take a mile. While there is something to be said of providing leadership opportunities for the younger generations, we need to understand just how narrow a worldview this generation has. David Hogg became an advocate as a result of his experience at Parkland. He was allowed to use his voice in the wake of that tragedy. What he and his peers did was nothing short of miraculous. Their March for Our Lives made national headlines and made Hogg a household name. He went on to study at Harvard and has since become more and more involved with the Democratic Party, culminating in his election as one of five DNC vice-chairs in 2025. He sees himself as a voice for this newest generation and the singular person to lead the charge.
But leadership cannot exist in a vacuum. That is what young David has yet to learn. You don't create a new generation of leaders by purging those who have come before you, especially those who have been longstanding public servants. Hogg is following the same ill-fated course as groups like Our Revolution and Justice Democrats, who also sought to purge the party of those they felt had been in positions of power for too long. Despite ousting a handful of prominent House Democrats, these groups could never achieve power because they refused to do the nitty-gritty work of actually organizing. These groups ran high-profile candidates like AOC but never ran candidates for local office, like the school committee or town council. The reason that incumbents remain in office at such high levels is that the people who voted for them see them as effective. If they didn't, they would be voted out. And it's not up to David Hogg alone to decide which Democratic congresspeople have overstayed their welcome.
While hypothetical, this scenario encapsulates a current uprising in the Democratic Party. Newly elected DNC vice-chair David Hogg has recently pledged $20 million from his Leaders We Deserve PAC to challenge incumbent Democrats in safe blue districts. Hogg's proposed insurgency has drawn the ire of veteran Democrats across the spectrum from DNC Chair Ken Martin to James Carville. At a time when Democrats are a handful of seats away from retaking the House, an internal civil war in the face of rising Republican authoritarianism seems ill-timed at best and downright treacherous at worst. Hogg's proposal to primary veteran Democratic House members in safe blue districts does nothing to impact the 2026 House race, which will be decided in the same 40 swing districts that decided 2024, with early returns in the two Florida House races revealing that an additional 10-15 seats might further be in play due to Trump and Musk's horrendous first 100 days. Creating unnecessary drama in safe blue seats in the last thing Democrats should be doing over these next 18 months.
But this is what happens when Democrats cater to the Far Left. Give them an inch and they take a mile. While there is something to be said of providing leadership opportunities for the younger generations, we need to understand just how narrow a worldview this generation has. David Hogg became an advocate as a result of his experience at Parkland. He was allowed to use his voice in the wake of that tragedy. What he and his peers did was nothing short of miraculous. Their March for Our Lives made national headlines and made Hogg a household name. He went on to study at Harvard and has since become more and more involved with the Democratic Party, culminating in his election as one of five DNC vice-chairs in 2025. He sees himself as a voice for this newest generation and the singular person to lead the charge.
But leadership cannot exist in a vacuum. That is what young David has yet to learn. You don't create a new generation of leaders by purging those who have come before you, especially those who have been longstanding public servants. Hogg is following the same ill-fated course as groups like Our Revolution and Justice Democrats, who also sought to purge the party of those they felt had been in positions of power for too long. Despite ousting a handful of prominent House Democrats, these groups could never achieve power because they refused to do the nitty-gritty work of actually organizing. These groups ran high-profile candidates like AOC but never ran candidates for local office, like the school committee or town council. The reason that incumbents remain in office at such high levels is that the people who voted for them see them as effective. If they didn't, they would be voted out. And it's not up to David Hogg alone to decide which Democratic congresspeople have overstayed their welcome.
Hogg will likely quietly back down from his threat in the coming weeks. Democrats seem unlikely to remove him from his position, as that would only feed into the longstanding "Dems in disarray" narrative that our media salivates over. But seeing Hogg in this light has shown Democrats that there still is work to be done in identifying new party leaders. There is a stark contrast between activists and politicians. We saw this with Justice Democrat Cori Bush, whose performative work in Congress got her primaried in 2024. Just because someone has success in front of a camera does not mean they can successfully think strategically about the bigger political picture. Hogg's myopic view on the upcoming House elections has shown that he is not currently able to think strategically about what is needed in the fight against Trump and rising Republican authoritarianism. At this unprecedented time, what we need is veteran congresspeople, the same type of people that Hogg himself would try and purge. We need these voices and their lived experience now more than ever.
And we need David Hogg to take a backseat and let the adults in the room do the talking.
And we need David Hogg to take a backseat and let the adults in the room do the talking.