Dems Need To Run A "Mondale" To Reset

The Democratic Party’s Crossroads: A Bitter Pill for a Brighter Future

The Democratic Party is in disarray. Following a crushing defeat in the 2024 presidential election, the party finds itself factionalized, leaderless, and polling at historic lows in voter approval. With internal divisions widening, policy coherence faltering, and public perception souring, the Democrats face a pivotal moment. The 2025 elections in Virginia and New Jersey may offer a temporary reprieve, but without addressing the root causes of their current malaise, the party risks a catastrophic electoral wipeout in 2028—especially if the economy thrives under Republican leadership.

To avoid a prolonged stint in the political wilderness, the Democrats must embrace a painful but necessary strategy: run a hard-left candidate in 2028, endure a massive Electoral College defeat, and use the aftermath to rebuild a centrist, broadly appealing coalition that reconnects with their working-class and Hispanic base.

A Party Adrift: The Democratic Party’s current state is dire. Polls reflect unprecedented lows in voter approval, with a CNN poll from March 2025 showing the party’s favorability at just 28%, a record low driven by negative views from independents and even elements of their own base.

A Quinnipiac University poll revealed that only 19% of respondents approve of congressional Democrats’ performance, marking a historic nadir. The party’s messaging is widely perceived as “woke,” “weak,” and “out of touch,” according to a Unite the Party PAC survey across battleground states. Internal strife has only exacerbated these challenges, with no clear national leader emerging to unify the party nearly a year after Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

The 2024 election exposed deep fissures between the party’s progressive and centrist wings. The progressive left, emboldened by the loss, has gained traction, as seen in the rise of socialist-leaning candidates like Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary for New York City mayor. Yet, this leftward shift has alienated moderates and working-class voters, with approval ratings among white men, Hispanic men, and working-class voters dipping below 35%.

The exile of David Hogg from the Democratic National Committee’s leadership ranks underscores the growing tension, as his brand of elite progressive activism has become a lightning rod for criticism. Posts on X echo this sentiment, with commentators like James Carville describing the party as a “cracked-out clown car” and others predicting a fracturing of the left-liberal-centrist alliance.

The 2025 Mirage: The 2025 elections in Virginia and New Jersey offer a glimmer of hope but risk masking deeper issues. In Virginia, substantial government worker layoffs have fueled discontent with the GOP, and the Republican candidate is not particularly compelling. New Jersey, despite GOP gains in 2024, remains solidly blue. Historical trends also favor Democrats in midterm elections, as the president’s party typically loses congressional seats. Polls suggest a closely divided battle for Congress in 2026, with Democrats holding a slight edge.

However, these short-term gains are a mirage. Without addressing the party’s ideological and structural problems, any 2025 or 2026 victories will be band-aids on a gaping wound. The economy, a critical factor in voter sentiment, could bolster Republican prospects by 2028 if it performs well under Trump’s policies, such as his “Liberation Day” tariffs, which, despite initial market turbulence, have shown signs of stabilization. A strong economy could amplify the Democrats’ vulnerabilities, particularly if they fail to reconnect with working-class and Hispanic voters who have drifted toward the GOP.

The Antisemitism Warning: The rise of the progressive left has also brought troubling undercurrents, notably accusations of antisemitism within the party. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s sharp rebuke of Zohran Mamdani for failing to condemn “blatantly antisemitic” extremists highlights this issue. The UK’s Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn offers a cautionary tale: Corbyn’s leadership, marred by antisemitism controversies, led to a split and the formation of a new progressive party, weakening Labour’s electoral prospects.

Democrats risk a similar fate if they cannot address these concerns. The Republican campaign arm has already seized on this, attempting to paint the entire party as embracing “socialists, criminals, and antisemitic radicals.” Failure to confront this issue head-on could further erode the party’s credibility with moderates and Jewish voters, a key demographic in states like Pennsylvania and Florida.

Lessons from 1968–1988: The Democratic Party’s current trajectory mirrors a painful period in its history: the 1968–1988 era, when a leftward shift led to some of the worst electoral defeats in its history. The candidacies of George McGovern in 1972 and Walter Mondale in 1984, both tied to the party’s progressive wing, resulted in landslide losses. McGovern’s campaign, plagued by perceptions of radicalism and incompetence, saw Richard Nixon win 520 Electoral College votes to McGovern’s 17. Mondale’s 1984 defeat to Ronald Reagan was similarly lopsided, with Reagan securing 525 electoral votes to Mondale’s 13.

These losses, while devastating, paved the way for a centrist resurgence under Bill Clinton, whose “Third Way” approach—emphasizing economic pragmatism and cultural moderation—led to Democratic victories in four of the next six presidential elections. The key difference between McGovern and Mondale lies in their perceived competence. McGovern was seen as a “flake,” whose chaotic campaign and radical rhetoric alienated voters.

Mondale, while ideologically left-leaning, was a respected figure whose defeat could be attributed to policy rather than personal failings. This distinction is critical for the Democrats’ 2028 strategy. A McGovern-like candidate would allow progressives to deflect blame onto the candidate’s weaknesses, delaying a reckoning. A Mondale-like figure—credible but firmly progressive—would force the party to confront the unpopularity of its leftward lurch.

The Bitter Pill: Run a hard-left candidate to break this cycle, the Democrats must embrace a radical but necessary strategy: nominate a hard-left candidate in 2028, fully aware that they will likely suffer a massive Electoral College defeat. This candidate should be a respected figure, not a polarizing activist like AOC or an untested radical similar to McGovern, but someone with Mondale’s gravitas—perhaps a progressive senator or governor with a track record of principled leadership.

The sensible goal would be not to win but to lose decisively, exposing the electoral limits of the progressive agenda and forcing a post-mortem that recenters the party. This approach is not without precedent. After the 1984 and 1988 defeats, the Democrats pivoted to Clinton, whose centrist policies—welfare reform, free trade, and tough-on-crime stances—appealed to the working-class and minority voters who had abandoned the party.

Today, the Democrats must reconnect with their former working-class and Hispanic base, who have shifted toward the GOP due to cultural disconnects and economic concerns. A focus on bread-and-butter issues—affordable healthcare, quality education, and job security—rather than identity politics or radical cultural stances, could rebuild this coalition.

Avoiding the wilderness without this painful reset, the Democrats risk a prolonged period in the electoral wilderness, akin to their struggles from 1860 to 1912, when they won only two presidential elections amid Republican dominance. The rise of socialist-leaning candidates and the potential for pollsters to treat Democrats and Democratic Socialists as separate entities signal a dangerous fracturing.

If the party continues its current trajectory, moderates or leftists may bolt, forming third parties or sitting out elections, paving the way for Republican dominance in 2028 and beyond. The 2025 elections may provide temporary relief, but they are no substitute for a long-term strategy. The Democrats must learn from history, swallow the bitter pill of a 2028 defeat, and use it to rebuild a centrist, inclusive party that speaks to the aspirations of working-class and Hispanic voters. Only then can they avoid the fate of irrelevance and reclaim their place as a competitive force in American politics.