Democrats are dispatching a roster of popular former presidents and national figures to battleground states ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections, hoping that the A-listers will boost turnout for candidates locked in tight races.
But even as the red carpet is rolled out for political heavyweights such as former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, who have widespread appeal, the Democratic Party is being more strategic about where it’s sending polarizing and progressive firebrands such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). The move highlights not only the importance centrists play in the party, but also tests the popularity of progressives with the 2024 presidential election just over the horizon.
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The potential roster of candidates on the Democratic side hasn’t produced any stellar standouts like Obama yet.
“If he were running in every state, we’d win every Senate race, but he’s a once-of-a-generation talent,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) told the New York Times.
While it’s likely that President Joe Biden will be the Democratic nominee, his dip in popularity could signal to party leaders that it may be time to find someone new. Biden may also decide to sit the next election out.
During an October interview with 60 Minutes, he said that while he intends to run for office in 2024, that doesn’t necessarily mean he will.
“Look, my intention, as I said to begin with, is that I would run again,” he said. “But it’s just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen.”
If Biden is indeed out, the next superstar of the Democratic Party has yet to emerge.
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Liberals who rallied around Sanders during the past two elections have started their search for another charismatic leader to energize a grassroots movement centered on progressive policies.
Joseph Geevarghese, the executive director of Our Revolution, a progressive organization, told the Los Angeles Times: “The most singular thing that progressive voters are looking for is someone who has a bold progressive vision that is not purely idealistic but is also implementable and that the candidate also has the ability to organize masses of people to implement that agenda.”
For now, it seems as though Ocasio-Cortez could fit the bill for some.
“AOC is a tremendous talent at such a young age,” Mark Longabaugh, a former senior adviser to Sanders’s presidential campaign, told the outlet. “Just prodigy-like.”
Even though progressives are fans of the New York lawmaker, she may come off as a little too abrasive for centrists in the party, which may be why she is sent more often than not to liberal areas. Ocasio-Cortez pulled in a hefty crowd of about 1,000 voters, as well as a few dozen protesters, during an Oct. 23 rally at the University of California, Irvine.
Another progressive favorite is Massachusetts’s Warren. She recently headlined a get-out-the-vote rally in Madison, Wisconsin, a progressive enclave in the battleground state. During her appearance, she enthusiastically reminded the crowd that the Democratic Senate nominee, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, was “committed to making this economy work for everyone.” Barnes, however, was not in attendance.
Warren is also lending her progressive star power in two less conservative states than Wisconsin: Washington and New Hampshire. She’s also stumping for Nevada Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, though the two will not be onstage together.
Sanders and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) aren’t joining any candidates onstage either but are hosting rallies aimed at boosting voter turnout.
“I’m fine with people saying, ‘Look, you’re too high-profile, a progressive, and I prefer if you can raise money and do other things separately,'” Jayapal told Politico. “So, we take our cues from people and what they want and what they need. But certainly, I’m never gonna go into a district if somebody doesn’t want me there.”
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While modern elections are about base mobilization, they also involve having a charismatic candidate who appeals to all factions of a party, and for now, the Democrats are lacking a star player.
