Fountain of Filth No. 7

The Next President Will Not be a Democrat

The Democrats better have something really good planned for ‘28. Even two years out, discussion of the 2028 presidential election is already filling news feeds, and generating contentious debate. The upcoming midterms are already being treated as a given. Already in 2026, we’ve seen a blue wave roll across the country, with democrats closing gaps in state level elections.(1) Discussion around the upcoming midterms treat the House and Senate flipping as a given.  However, the Democratic party is seriously troubled. Internal splits between the establishment and further left ‘ Dems have created a fork in the road for voters and party leadership alike. Should we hold fast to the establishment Democrats or see where left populism can take the party? I’d argue that following the lead of young leftists is do or die for Dems in 2028 and beyond

Part of this democratic surge comes from New York City, where democratic socialists, DSA members who run on the Democratic ticket, have used a groundswell of support from DSA members and New Yorkers alike to upset  mainstream democratic candidates. It has been an astounding show of independent political power, outside the reach of influence groups such as AIPAC that trade campaign funding for political representation. It seems like there are no signs of stopping. These DSA candidates have to not only defeat the republican candidate in their race, they have to compete within their party for nominations, oftentimes facing big-money democrats. In a country where the two major political parties have shared power for so long that it feels as though they have always existed, an outsider of any kind feels like a hand to safety. That’s exactly how voters have felt about Trump for the past 10 years. What if these young lefties could pose a serious threat to the political establishment? However, if they weren’t seen as a serious political threat, why would MAGA go after them with such intensity?(2) These deep blue democrats in the so-called ‘commie corridor’ could potentially pose a threat to both parties in upcoming elections. That is, if the Democrats don’t wisen up and follow the left-populist tradewinds rolling off the Gowanus Canal. We’ve already seen what can happen to the Dems when they accept a candidate respected by the citizens they claim to represent. The New York mayor’s race in 2025, for example, saw Zohran Mamdani upset Cuomo, who was forced to run as the independent, as well as Sliwa. Did Zohran run against a disgraced former governor? Yes, but as we have seen in the 2016 and 2024 national elections, credible sexual abuse allegation do little to sway voters. Was Sliwa–the republican–an unserious candidate with no chance of winning? Also yes, but it seems like he had lots of fun running anyways. The point is, by the time the 2028 election comes, it will have been 20 years since the Democratic party has launched a campaign that has roused real excitement. They need young, populist candidates or they will flounder yet again. 

There are currently 3 main issues that are igniting and, increasingly, uniting the country. These issues have clear interplay and can be presented as a strong set of goals for the Dems to rally behind. Israel’s genocide in Palestine has called into serious question the massive amount of funding the US provides to Israel. Why, during a time where Americans are struggling, are we funneling money to Tel Aviv so they can kill kids, while most of our own citizens fall deeper into poverty? Why are we entering into more wars at the behest of Netenyahu? How did the Israel lobby gain so much power and influence in our government? This dovetails directly into the cost of living crisis, worsening in large part due to the war in Iran. That isn't the only cause of the current economic crisis. It is also a symptom of the latest stage in the slow creep of neoliberalism bringing the market into every available sphere of life it can slither into. And now, the next stage of  the descent of neoliberalism is coming to our doorstep, literally. Drinking water, made ever more precious by pollution and climate change, and power, made more expensive due to aforementioned wars, are being diverted to massive Data Centers. The machine’s groans, which sound like the foley work for Eraserhead, are a constant reminder that AI is coming. Not to mention, these AI giants have helped transform the stock market into a casino, gambling with the savings of millions of Americans. When the house of cards finally caves, will we get justice or another bank bailout?  All three issues are popular, connect directly to the everyday lives of people, and avoid the culture war, the Achilles heel of most Democrats.(3) The sole purpose of these centers is to develop AI, which is useless and unwanted for all but the capitalist class, until it makes redundant the most powerful of humankind's tools, our brains. 

Research for this month’s column began with me attempting to read the rejected DNC report on the 2024 campaign. I wanted to analyze what steps might be next, what they had learned from ‘24 and what comes next in ‘28. That unfinished document, titled “Build to Win. Build to Last” isn't worth the space it takes up on my hard drive. DNC chair Ken Martin was smart to try and bury it, because it exposes something that we all already expected: the democrats don’t have a plan for ‘28. 

Footnotes:

1. Ballotpedia, “State Executive Official Elections, 2026.”

2. AP News, “Rubio Gathers Countries on Left-Wing Political Violence as It Becomes a Trump Focus in Elections.”

3. It is my belief that most culture war issues are so explosive due to the crushing weight of trying to survive as a working American. Relieving the pressure of mere survival will, I think, lessen the anger around difficult issues, and eventually lead to a generally more progressive mindset. Currently, young white men see the mostly symbolic wins that other groups get as an attack on their standing in society. On the left, a blanket attitude towards men, especially working men, has alienated a group that is needed in order to win. What both sides are missing is that without serious collaboration, concessions from capital will never be won. With those concessions, we can begin to build a more equitable society, worker power that works for all.