The Democratic establishment's ideas deficit

The centrist Democratic group Third Way recently declared "war" on democratic socialists to head off what they fear could be a far-left hijacking of the party ahead of 2028.

• But establishment Democrats have made clear what they're against without making much of a case for what they're for.

Why it matters: It's hard to beat something with nothing.

• Democratic socialism, whatever you think of it, is easy to grasp: Tax billionaires and redistribute wealth. Provide government-funded health care and child care for everyone. Rely less on markets for housing and education. Empower workers with stronger unions.
• The establishment vision is murky. Raise taxes, but not too high; use government to make health care and child care more affordable, rather than taking them over; rein in the excesses of capitalism without upending capitalism itself.
• That's a tougher vision to sum up, let alone rally behind.
• "Without question, we agree with the left that we have failed to convince working-class voters that their lives will be better if they put us in charge," Third Way co-founder Matt Bennett told Axios. "You'd have to be insane to disagree."

State of play: A string of democratic socialist wins in House primaries, followed by progressive Abdul El-Sayed's win in the Michigan Senate primary, has set off a debate over whether the Democratic Party is undergoing a transformation.

• New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the most prominent democratic socialist, is emerging as a formidable potential presidential candidate in 2028.
• But others argue the party hasn't fundamentally changed from 2020. That year, Joe Biden dispatched a primary field that lurched left on health care, crime and immigration (though Biden also adapted to accommodate the party's leftward shift).
• "Give progressives credit for bringing ideas to the table. Pragmatists haven't been as good as we need to be about offering our own ideas and agenda," potential Democratic presidential candidate Rahm Emanuel wrote on X.
• But, pointing to democratic socialist Francesca Hong's loss in her primary for Wisconsin governor and other mainstream Democrats winning the same night, he added: "[T]he pragmatic wing isn't a faction of this party. It's the majority, it's awake now, and it's exerting itself."

Between the lines: Third Way recently announced a $15 million campaign to take on the progressive left.

• Bennett said Third Way has 100-plus people working on a policy menu — a "new kind of offer for working-class voters who have abandoned Democrats" — that he hopes 2028 Democrats will draw from.
• There are already clear examples of centrists drawing a bright line with democratic socialists, he added. "Where we strongly differ with them is around the particulars. They're for Medicare for all, and we're for … a health care bill of rights that would improve the existing system, not throw it out and replace it with a $30 trillion socialization of the health care space."

Yes, but: Some liberals have tried to chart a fresh direction for the party. Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson argued in a 2025 book that Democrats should become the party of "abundance" — building more housing, infrastructure and clean energy — by cutting red tape and making government work better.

• But it hasn't caught fire.

The big picture: Some middle-of-the-road Democrats say the problem isn't just about ideas — it's also about tone.

• Their argument: Voters want fighters to take on President Trump, but the party establishment — unlike progressives — too often offers split-the-difference responses.
• Third Way President Jon Cowan, speaking at a Democratic Party strategy summit in March, called instead for a "combative" centrism.

The bottom line: Establishment Democrats have lost their identity. 2028 will show whether they can give voters something to rally around — or whether the party has moved away from them.