Activist David Hogg struggles in push for new generation of Dem leaders

• But Hogg's organization, Leaders We Deserve, hasn't endorsed any challengers to Democratic incumbents in Congress and has been successful in just one of three contests this year.

Driving the news: Hogg's group scored a big victory in June when it donated $300,000 to the Working Families Party PAC to help Zohran Mamdani in the final stretch of his successful campaign in New York City's mayoral primary.

• Since then, however, Hogg's PAC has struggled to pick winning candidates and has frustrated even its own supporters by not endorsing anyone challenging an incumbent.
• The group donated $150,000 to 25-year-old progressive influencer Deja Foxx, even though her opponent in an Arizona congressional primary was backed by progressives such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). Foxx lost by nearly 40 points with just 22% of the vote.
• Leaders We Deserve also invested $5,000 in Irene Shin's campaign for Congress in Virginia this summer, and planned to invest more before abruptly retreating from the race. Shin lost her primary by 45 points.

Zoom out: Hogg told The New York Times in April that his group would spend $20 million backing younger leaders and primary challengers to Democrats in safe congressional seats to help end a "culture of seniority politics."

• DNC leaders were outraged and said party officers must be neutral in Democratic primaries.
• After infighting and party members calling for another vice chair election, Hogg left his DNC position in June.

By the numbers: Hogg has accused Democrats of being overly reliant on political consultants, but his group is spending most of its money on such companies, according to campaign finance reports.

• Over the first eight months of this year, Leaders We Deserve spent $4.9 million with about $2.5 million going to consultants and $455,000 on helping three candidates.
• The group spent $1.1 million on digital ads and $965,000 on acquiring lists of potential supporters to help grassroots fundraising along with a variety of communications and fundraising consultants.
• It also spent about $4,900 on ClassPass, the fitness class subscription service.
• The group had $1.6 million in the bank at the end of August.
• The Washington Post previously reported some of these details.

The other side: Leaders We Deserve and its allies argue they need to invest in a grassroots fundraising infrastructure now to compete against incumbent Democrats next year.

• Kevin Lata, co-founder and executive director of Leaders We Deserve, told Axios that "our projections show that every $1 we put into these investments will net $3-$5 by the end of the cycle .... This helps to make sure every donation goes farther than it otherwise would."
• On the ClassPass subscription, Lata added: "We provide a wellness benefit to our employees, like many employers across the country."

• Lata said the group will "have many more endorsements to announce soon."

What they're saying: But even progressives who support Hogg's plan are growing impatient: "It's time to sh*t or get off the pot. You stood up to the DNC, now it's time to stand up to some incumbents," a national Democratic strategist told Axios.

• Other progressive groups such as Justice Democrats and the Working Families Party have endorsed challengers to congressional incumbents this cycle.
• Moderate Democrats who are critical of Hogg are relishing his slow start. "David Hogg has a $20 million plan. And I have a plan to have 5% body fat, but that doesn't mean it's a credible plan," said Liam Kerr, co-founder of the centrist Democrats' WelcomePAC.
• Bill Neidhardt — a senior media adviser at the progressive firm MiddleSeat, which has been a main consultant for Hogg's group — told Axios: "Anyone who thinks this PAC should be spending on campaigns in September of an off year is an outright idiot."

The intrigue: Hogg may be having a harder time raising money since his high-profile fight with the DNC ended, according to Democratic digital consultants.

• Tim Tagaris, a progressive digital strategist who was the architect of Bernie Sanders' 2020 fundraising machine, said of Hogg's group: "It looks like it has cost them a lot more money in July and August to raise what they raised in June, so my guess is that things have slowed some since the separation."
• Lata dismissed that notion, telling Axios: "99% of candidates, PACs and state parties have seen fundraising slow down over the summer months."