DNC Leading Discusses Primaries

In a move that’s already sending shockwaves through the Democratic establishment, David Hogg, the 25-year-old activist turned Democratic National Committee vice chair, is drawing his battle lines—not against Republicans, but against fellow Democrats.

At the heart of this political gambit is a $20 million campaign driven by his organization, Leaders We Deserve, aimed squarely at unseating sitting House Democrats in deep-blue districts. The goal? To replace what he calls “out-of-touch” incumbents with younger, more aggressive progressives.

The significance of this moment cannot be overstated. It’s one thing for grassroots groups to take aim at the party elite.

It’s another when the artillery is coming from within the brass itself. Hogg’s dual role as both DNC vice chair and progressive insurgent marks a daring, perhaps even explosive, shift in intra-party dynamics. This is no symbolic gesture. It’s a declaration of war.

At stake is the soul—and the strategy—of the Democratic Party. After a bruising election cycle that left the party battered at multiple levels, a generational rift has widened.

Young progressives are demanding not only policy shifts but a structural overhaul of how the party defines leadership and wields power. Hogg, emerging from the crucible of tragedy in Parkland, Florida, has now recast himself as a political disruptor with a national platform and institutional leverage.

By refusing to sign a neutrality agreement that would typically restrain party officials from meddling in primaries, Hogg is telegraphing a clear message: this isn’t business as usual. His team plans to fund not only federal challenges but also state legislative races, widening the battlefield.

Hogg’s criticism of the establishment is direct and unsparing. He accuses party leaders of feigning a desire for change while clinging to power. “That’s not actually wanting change. That’s selfishness,” he says, bracing for what he expects to be a “smear campaign” in retaliation.

And while he insists that the effort isn’t about pushing older lawmakers out purely because of age, the generational critique is baked into the mission: bring in lawmakers who live the consequences of current policy debates, not just those who legislate them.