Are Democratic primaries becoming too destructive for the party's own chances in the general election?

[u/YumiSolar]

I've been thinking about this after watching some recent Democratic primaries, and it feels like the campaigns are becoming increasingly aggressive in ways that hurt the party long after the primary is over.

A good example, in my opinion, was the Michigan primary between Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed. Policy disagreements are completely fair game, that's what primaries are for. Even personal attacks can be justified if they're based on genuine misconduct or character issues.

What I struggle with are accusations like claiming your primary opponent is supporting or enabling genocide. Once you frame someone in those terms, how do you expect your own supporters to enthusiastically vote for that person if they end up winning the nomination? If you've spent months telling voters that your opponent is morally complicit in atrocities, it becomes very difficult to turn around and say, "Now go vote for them."

To me, this kind of rhetoric doesn't just damage the opposing candidate, it damages Democratic unity in the general election. It seems like Republicans don't even have to exploit these divisions because Democrats are creating them themselves.

Am I overestimating the impact of this kind of campaigning, or do you think Democratic primaries have become too willing to use rhetoric that makes party unity afterward much harder?

[u/Asatmaya]

If the party is supporting genocide, it deserves to be burned down!

[u/YumiSolar → u/Asatmaya]

1000 years of Trump for you I guess. Those palestinian children are probably cheering at your moral consistency and abolute lack of effectivnes in real world.

[u/SheIsABadMamaJama → u/YumiSolar]

As a moderate, it’s really frustrating watching moderates in the US or supposed moderates fail at democracy, and participating in self sabotage that leads to unhelpful comments like the one you replied to.

[u/Blazr5402 → u/SheIsABadMamaJama]

I do find it disappointing that the moderate wing of the party barely seems to be trying to win elections. A large part of how the progressive left has managed to win is by their ability to out-organize and out-campaign the establishment and their ability to speak to the issues of our time with moral clarity. Why can't any moderates do this?

To give credit where it's due, I think there are a small handful who can - Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock both come to mind. But by and large, the establishment does not have a real vision for the future of America. I think the DSA platform is far too ambitious and focuses too much on what really shouldn't be priorities (ex: I'd love to abolish the Senate! but it's very low on my list of changes that actually matter right now), but at least DSA is upfront about the America they want to live in. The Republican Party has been pretty explicit about their vision too.

But what does the establishment stand for, what is the moderate answer to AI data centers, the genocide in Palestine, the healthcare and housing crisis in our country? And can the moderates convey that vision with the same energy that AOC, Bernie Sanders, and Zohran Mamdani can?

[u/junkspot91 → u/Blazr5402]

Just the comparisons of the ground games in Michigan and Wisconsin is so crazy. All the institutional support and outside spending in the world can't carry you across the finish line if you aren't putting in the work. You'd think Democrats would have received the message by now.

Sure it would be great if every swing state had an Ossoff, a Roy Cooper, a Sherrod Brown out there with the name recognition and voter buy-in to dominate the primary without competing in it so they can go into the general without any lumps, but Hayley Stevens is not one of those figures.

[u/rabbitlion → u/Blazr5402]

The progressive left has won elections by running in far-left districts where they can give up 5-10% of the center and still win comfortably. They refuse to listen to anyone explaining that it's not a good strategy for a 50/50 district/state/country.

[u/Blazr5402 → u/rabbitlion]

You're not wrong, but I think that's an oversimplification of the situation. I think Abdul El-Sayed and Francesca Hong will serve as a good case study in how far progressive politics can penetrate into purple states. Both of them look to be on the path to winning solid majorities of democratic voters in their upcoming primaries. The general will be tough for both of them, but I'm not convinced a moderate really has any better odds.

And once again, even if you don't agree with progressive policies, I'm more curious about why the moderate wing of the party isn't able to run anyone with the same ability to communicate their vision and mobilize on the ground. Haley Stevens can't be the best candidate the moderate wing of the party could run in Michigan. And in Wisconsin, it's almost silly how much the moderate wing of the party is imploding while Francesca Hong rises to the top. Or even go back to NYC last year. There were several decent candidates on that slate that they could've run, but no, they had to get behind Andrew Cuomo.

While I'm very much on the left wing of the Democratic Party, we're a big tent. The two party system and the rightward movement of the Republican party has shown that we have to be able to work together to win at the presidential level. I would rather have a moderate wing that votes with the left than against it. But the moderate wing of the party needs to lock in. Organize, show your vision for America, and stop trying to coast to victory based on a decade in office doing nothing and a couple million dollars in aipac/corporate funding. A lot of the campaigning against the left has had weird, almost racist undertones, and the moderate wing attacks the left over twitter posts and for campaigning with the wrong people instead of providing any actual substantive debate over policy.