DNC Vice Chair David Hogg Plans to Spend Millions Against Democratic Incumbents, Admits ‘This Is Going to Anger a Lot of People’
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg plans to spend millions of dollar to unseat incumbent Democratic officials.
Yes, you read that right.
Hogg, who assumed his position in February, intends to spend $20 million primarying Democrats through Leaders We Deserve, the “grassroots organization dedicated to electing young progressives to Congress and State Legislatures across the country to help defeat the far-right agenda and advance a progressive vision for the future,” that Hogg serves as president of.
From a New York Times report on Hogg’s plans:
In an interview, Mr. Hogg said he understood that he would face blowback for his decision to serve simultaneously as a top official in the party — which is typically focused on electing Democrats over Republicans — and as a leader of an effort to oust current Democratic lawmakers.
“This is going to anger a lot of people,” Mr. Hogg said of his efforts, which he began to brief allies, some lawmakers and party officials on in recent days. He predicted “a smear campaign against me” that would aim to “destroy my reputation and try to force me to stop doing this.”
“People say they want change in the Democratic Party, but really they want change so long as it doesn’t potentially endanger their position of power,” he said. “That’s not actually wanting change. That’s selfishness.”
His decision to engage directly in primaries threatens to fracture the leadership of the Democratic National Committee.
At a private meeting last month, a “neutrality policy” was circulated asking the party’s top officers to refrain from any activity that would “call into question their impartiality and evenhandedness,” according to two people with knowledge of the pledge, which sought to cover officers “both in their D.N.C. capacity and in their personal capacity.”
Everyone signed it — except Mr. Hogg.
DNC Chair Ken Martin issued a statement on the matter, arguing that “In order to ensure we are as effective as possible at electing Democrats to office, it is the D.N.C.’s longstanding position that primary voters — not the national party — determine their Democratic candidates for the general election,” but also stipulating that “David Hogg is a passionate advocate and we are grateful for his service to the Democratic Party, whether it be in his role as a D.N.C. vice chair or in an outside capacity.”
Already, critics of Hogg’s efforts are speaking up.
“Today, of the 767 counties that make up the 10 battleground states over the last four POTUS cycles, Dems have lost ground in 703,” observed longtime Demcoratic operative Steve Schale. “The DNC’s Vice Chairman should be focused on that, not a disagreement over which Dem is in a D +20 seat.”
https://x.com/steveschale/status/1912560646249414915
When @davidhogg111 became Vice-Chair, I was quoted worrying he would not make the switch from activist to his new role. And he didn’t,” concurred Third Way’s Matt Bennett. “This is insane behavior from a DNC official, especially as Trump takes a chainsaw to our democracy.”
