Dem leaders fume as insurgents wage costly civil war
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An expensive Democratic civil war is brewing this election cycle, with a staggering 30 House Democrats facing at least one primary challenger who has raised $100,000 or more, an Axios analysis found.
Why it matters: These primaries are drawing tens of millions of dollars from Democrats' efforts to retake the House while priming House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) to inherit a rebellious class of new freshmen.
- The collective fundraising in these races adds up to more than $64 million — out of roughly $500 million raised by all Democratic House campaigns so far this cycle.
- Nearly a dozen House Democrats are facing primary challengers who have raised more money than they have.
- Many of these primary insurgents — along with a huge cohort of outsiders and progressives running in open primaries — have declined to commit to supporting Jeffries' leadership if elected.
Flashback: Contrast that with the 2018 election cycle, in which progressives rode a wave of grassroots energy spurred by Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign two years earlier to make huge gains.
- 2018 was the year Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) unseated veteran Democratic incumbents.
- But just half a dozen Democratic primary challengers ended 2017 having raised $76,000, the CPI-adjusted equivalent of $100,000 that year.
What they're saying: "Typically what I do with my money is send it to the districts that need it," Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) told Axios.
- With a fierce primary battle on his hands, he said, "that money doesn't go to the swing districts. ... We'll probably spend, in that primary, $5 million. Last year I probably spent more like $400,000."
- A House Democrat close to leadership, speaking on the condition of anonymity, griped to Axios: "This is the new reality we live in, where people do not care about the party and trying to win."
- "They just care about moving their ideological wing of the party forward," the anonymous Democrat said.
Between the lines: Unlike in past cycles, it's not simply a clash of the left versus the center.
- Many of the incumbents who are facing the fiercest primary challenges are over 70 years old, with younger rivals calling for generational change.
- Some Democratic insurgents are also criticizing the party establishment for not "fighting" Republicans hard enough, a stylistic but relatively non-ideological complaint that has dominated the party's grassroots politics over the last year.
- These dynamics are often correlated, but not always. Larson's campaign manager, for instance, stressed in a statement to Axios that the 77-year-old is a "progressive champion" with a "proven record of taking on Trump."
What we're hearing: These candidates "don't care what Hakeem thinks, they care what AOC may think," said the House Democrat close to leadership.
- "That's the problem, and then you end up spending a fortune," the lawmaker said, arguing that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee should defend safe-seat incumbents in primaries.
- "In this new world, they're going to have to do that. Because it's bullsh*t otherwise, why would anyone want to pay their dues?"
- "I'd be frustrated too," said a senior House Democrat. "It's like, 'I've been giving you money to support frontliners.'"
The other side: "That these primaries are happening at all is a sign that the establishment such as it still exists has lost control," said Amanda Litman, founder of Run for Something.
- "In the past, they might have been able to credibly box out challengers or clear the field; in 2026, the old guard simply doesn't have the juice anymore."
- She added: "I think the party will be better off for it — incumbents having to defend their leadership and make an affirmative case for how they're the best people to lead us forward helps sharpen our arguments."
What to watch: March 3 primaries in North Carolina and Texas will be the first test for embattled Democratic incumbents.
- Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-N.C.) is facing a well-funded challenge from left-wing rival Nida Allam, who is backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
- Longtime Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) is battling with newly-elected Rep. Christian Menefee (D-Texas) for a single Houston-based seat, while Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Texas) is being challenged by former Rep. Collin Allred.
The bottom line: The blue wave Democratic leadership is praying for may turn out to be a double-edge sword, sweeping them into power while putting them at the mercy of a group of insatiable rabble rousers.
- Jeffries need only ask former Speaker Kevin McCarthy how that went.
