David Hogg riles Democratic Party with plans to primary incumbents

David Hogg, a top Democratic Party official, isn’t backing off his controversial plan to fund primary challenges against Democratic members of Congress he deems “ineffective” in reaching disaffected voters, particularly young ones.

“The fact of the matter is if you were doing your job and you’re being effective, this should not concern you,” Hogg said in an interview with The Washington Post’s “Post Reports” podcast. “But if you are anxious from listening to this or hearing about this idea, you should ask yourself, if you’re a member of Congress, why and how you can change?”

Hogg gained a national profile as an impassioned advocate for stricter gun laws after surviving the 2018 shooting at his high school in Parkland, Florida, and has emerged in recent years as a prominent Democratic activist and fundraiser. Earlier this year, the then 24-year-old was elected to serve as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, becoming the youngest person to serve in party leadership.

At the same time, he’s also co-founded a new organization, Leaders We Deserve. The group’s stated goal of unseating incumbent Democrats has rankled many within the party, especially given Hogg’s prominent role inside the DNC. To some, his promise to invest $20 million targeting Democrats is seen as misguided at a time when the party is up against President Donald Trump and needs to claw back its majority in the House of Representatives to blunt his power.

But Hogg insists that his plan works toward that goal, not against it. He has no interest in primarying Democrats in tight races that could decide the makeup of Congress, he said, but rather lawmakers in safe seats who he claims have grown complacent and out-of-touch with the electorate’s woes.

Hogg said he has identified such Democrats, but declined to name names. He also said he has several challengers already lined up, though he also refused to get ahead of their campaign announcements. But, he feels certain that once skeptics in the party see some of these candidates “they’re going to feel a lot better about this.”

A few days after Hogg spoke to The Post, DNC Chairman Ken Martin declared that party officials must remain neutral in Democratic primaries, effectively forcing Hogg to choose between his official role and his disrupter goals.

“They’re trying to change the rules because I’m not currently breaking them,” Hogg said in a statement Thursday, responding to Martin’s comments. “As we’re seeing law firms, tech companies, and so many others bowing to Trump, we all must use whatever position of power we have to fight back. And that’s exactly what I’m doing.”

DNC members have struggled with Hogg’s desire to play the parts of an insider and an outsider.

Michael Kapp, a DNC member from California, said he thinks Hogg needs to choose which role is more important to him.

“I think that there are appropriate places for both the DNC and Leaders We Deserve, but not necessarily one individual with hands in both camps,” he said.

Kapp, who voted for Hogg to be vice chair, said he believes in Hogg’s mission, but worries it might reflect badly on the party.

“I do believe that we have plenty of incumbents who are not pushing back against encroaching MAGA fascism in this country, and we do need a new generation of leaders — not necessarily young people, but that wouldn’t hurt — but a new generation of leaders who are fighting, actively fighting, using every resource, every opportunity, to defend the American people from Trump and his cronies in Washington,” he said. “My concern is how it reflects on the DNC.”

Howard Chou, a DNC member from Colorado, was also conflicted.

“I will support our Democrats, but we also do need the passing of batons. I do understand where David’s coming from. I don’t know if the approach is the correct way of doing it,” Chou said. “I will say that we definitely need to shake up because whatever we’ve been doing the last 20 years has not been working.”

The Democratic Party has been adrift since losing the presidential election last year as it struggles to rebuild and reconnect with voters it has lost. Young people are particularly uninspired by the party that once had a lock on the under 30 demographic. A significant number of younger voters chose Trump over Kamala Harris. And support for congressional Democrats among 18-to-29-year-olds has plummeted to 25%, dropping from 48% in fall 2020, according to a new national poll from the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics.

Hogg said he tried to warn the DNC ahead of the 2024 presidential election that it was losing young people, but was met with resistance and skepticism.

“It is an indictment of the Democratic Party that right now we can’t just say, ‘Well, the reason why our approvals are where they are is because people haven’t seen what Donald Trump is going to do.’ We’re seeing it. He is disappearing people. He is wrecking the stock market by toying with our economy with all this … tariff stupidity. And our approvals are still as low as they are,” Hogg said. “That is an indictment of our party, and it is an indictment of, of not just of our messaging, but more than anything, of our characters.”