Moderate Democrats claim a third way against the rise of socialism in the U.S.

When the young socialist Zohran Mamdani won the New York mayoralty last year, a revolutionary hope swept through the left wing of the Democratic Party. With a close and charismatic style, a message that put the pocket at the center, and a viral campaign on social media, the assemblyman went from being a complete unknown to the beacon of progressivism in the United States in just a few months. His victory against the candidate supported by the party establishment, former governor Andrew Cuomo, who received eleven times more money in donations, was then interpreted as a national singularity that could not be replicated beyond the progressive stronghold in a country where, a year earlier, the far-right Donald Trump had won the presidential election by winning the popular vote and in all the competitive battleground states.

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But the primary cycle held this year ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, in which Democrats aim to regain control of both legislative chambers and expand their power in numerous states, has shown that the socialist momentum is not limited to New York. The recent victory of Abdul el Sayed in the Michigan Senate primary against centrist Haley Stevens added to a growing list of rising leftist candidates, which has prompted a reaction from the moderate sector of the Democratic Party.

One of the main centrist pressure groups in the party, Third Way, has recently launched a $15 million investment to try to correct the course. They consider the Democratic Socialists of America, an independent organization whose candidates are running in the party primaries, as a threat to the Democratic soul as well as to their electoral aspirations.

“The places that will decide the majority in the House and Senate are, by definition, swing districts, and the only way to win in them is by nominating people who can attract at least 51% of the voters,” warns Matt Bennett, one of the founders of the moderate think tank, in an interview with La Vanguardia. These rising socialist candidates, he assures, can convince wary Democratic voters of the establishment, but will alienate many Republicans and independents, which could thwart the party’s goals in the legislative elections.

“Their ideas are so radical that they are completely un-American,” Bennett denounces: “They want to abolish prisons, open the border completely, eliminate the presidency, the Senate, and the Supreme Court, and give workers the means of production. They are Marxists, not European-style social democrats.” Republicans are already taking advantage of their victories to warn about the arrival of “communism” in the country, a taboo label in the U.S., and “we are very concerned that they could use that weapon against the entire party,” says the co-founder of Third Way.

Bennett worked on Bill Clinton’s two presidential campaigns, the ideological reference of the third way in the U.S., and entered his White House as deputy assistant secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs. In 2001, he became the director of Public Affairs at Americans for Gun Safety, where he promoted bipartisan policies for gun regulation in the country. In 2005, he co-founded Third Way with the goal of supporting moderate, center-left candidates within the Democratic Party.

But the political climate has completely transformed over the last two decades and public opinion has polarized, especially since the presidencies of Barack Obama and Trump. “The Democratic Party has moved at an evolutionary speed, while the Republicans have done so at a revolutionary speed,” Bennett acknowledges. “We have already seen what happens when radicals take control of one of the two major parties. It has happened on the right and we want to avoid at all costs that it happens on the left,” he concludes.

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After Trump’s return to the Oval Office, the Democratic apparatus was left powerless, unable to articulate a solid and inspiring political alternative, and some progressive candidates are managing to capitalize on the disenchantment with the establishment. Numerous primaries held this year have highlighted the internal battle between the two souls of the party: the progressive, which believes that right-wing populism must be defeated with left-wing populism, and the centrist, which appeals to the moderate voter tired of polarization.

Despite the socialist momentum, the party’s center has achieved important victories this year. This is the case of David Crowley, who this week narrowly defeated and against poll predictions the progressive Francesca Hong in the Wisconsin governor primaries. Or Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill, who last November defeated their Republican rivals and became governors of Virginia and New Jersey. Unlike the more leftist, more confrontational wing, the moderates’ discourse focuses on the need to rebuild ties, unite the country against extremism, and work hand in hand with Republicans to pass bipartisan measures.

Despite the internal battle, which on some occasions has descended into personal insults, Democrats are aware that they must bury their differences in November and articulate a message of country in the legislative elections. “When the primaries end, we all must focus on the extremism of the Trump administration and the Republicans in Congress,” Bennett states. The president has broken his promises: “He said life would be easier, prices would go down, we would disengage from foreign affairs, and there would be plenty of jobs. None of that has happened; on the contrary: he is waging an absurd war and has imposed stupid tariffs that are making everything more expensive. He is consumed by his own greed and narcissism. That is the message, and I think all Democrats will convey it one way or another.”

Beyond the rejection of Trump and his corruption, Democrats are united in the need for “healthcare to be much more affordable and available to everyone,” Bennett points out, “although we have different ideas on how to achieve it.” Something similar happens with the defense of the LGBTI community, discriminated against from Washington, with the need for a more redistributive tax system, or to treat immigrants humanely.

But everything indicates that the rift opened in the party will last, at least, until the presidential elections. For the first time, this week some polls and prediction markets have placed Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, as the favorite to win the party nomination in 2028. Her chances will largely depend on the success of progressives in the midterms, because if candidates like el Sayed lose in competitive states like Michigan, moderates will have a strong argument in their hands: socialism can win in Democratic strongholds, but the third way can convince the country.

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