David Hogg Is Right: The Democratic Party Must Evolve or Risk Irrelevance

The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #361

David Hogg Is Right: The Democratic Party Must Evolve or Risk Irrelevance

Last night, around 9:30 pm…I got an email from Leaders We Deserve; a message from David Hogg. (I’ve included it at the end of this issue of the Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter.)

Hogg announced that he was “…no longer a DNC Vice Chair.” and had chosen not to run in the upcoming election. He also had some other things to say, and my head nodded, “Yes!” more than once as I read them.

By any measure, David Hogg has become one of the most prominent political voices of his generation.

Known first for surviving the Parkland shooting and emerging as a passionate advocate for gun reform…Hogg has since broadened his focus to issues of democratic renewal and generational leadership within the Democratic Party.

His recent statement about stepping back from a DNC leadership role to focus on his organization Leaders We Deserve is more than a personal update — it's a pointed critique of a political party that…in his view…is dangerously complacent.

And on several critical fronts…Hogg is absolutely right.

Let me be upfront: I don’t particularly like David Hogg. Don’t ask me why — I couldn’t tell you. And frankly, I don’t waste energy trying to figure it out.

Sometimes, you just don’t take to someone. It’s a gut-level thing, and that’s fine. Not every reaction needs to be overanalyzed or therapized.

Now — and this is important — that doesn’t mean I can’t respect the guy. I absolutely can. I separate personality from principle.

On the substance — what he’s doing…what he’s standing up for…and the clarity he brings to certain issues — I agree with him. He’s not wrong…and in some cases…he’s dead right.

You don’t need to like someone to acknowledge when they’ve got a good point or a strong strategy.

That’s grown-up thinking. And it’s in short supply.

The Culture of Complacency Is Unsustainable

Hogg’s central argument — that too many Democratic leaders are “asleep at the wheel” — reflects a widely felt frustration among voters and activists alike.

While Republicans have aggressively reshaped courts..state legislatures…and public narratives…Democrats have often responded with caution…internal conflict…or passive reliance on electoral demographics that are shifting beneath them.

As Hogg notes, this is not just a generational problem — though age is a factor — but one of effectiveness and urgency.

Some of the party’s most influential figures remain in positions of power well past their prime…with no clear succession plan and limited responsiveness to today's political realities.

The recent deaths of sitting Democratic members, which Hogg references, have indeed had consequences for legislative control.

But more than that, these events symbolize a larger issue: a reluctance to evolve and pass the torch…even as the electorate — and the challenges facing the country — demand it.

Vision Vacuum: What Does the Party Stand For?

Perhaps Hogg’s most damning observation is that the Democratic Party currently lacks a compelling vision. “Not because we don’t have money,” he writes, “but because we don’t have a compelling vision for the future.”

This is a brutal truth.

While Democrats can still raise enormous sums and mobilize support against Trumpism, many voters — especially young and working-class Americans — remain unconvinced that the party represents meaningful change.

The party's national approval numbers remain worryingly low…even as the GOP doubles down on extremism and anti-democratic behavior.

Hogg is right to argue that the party cannot survive merely as a “lesser evil.”

Voters need a reason to be excited…not just afraid.

Democrats made historic legislative gains in the 20th century not by playing it safe… but by being bold: passing Social Security, the Civil Rights Act…Medicare…the Affordable Care Act.

Today’s Democratic leadership often struggles to articulate that kind of ambition…let alone fight for it with the same clarity or fire.

Primary Challenges Are Not a Threat — They’re a Necessity

One of the more controversial aspects of Hogg’s position is his call for more competitive Democratic primaries — even against long-serving incumbents.

This isn’t a reckless attempt to sow division. It’s a recognition of what makes a party healthy and dynamic.

Across the aisle, the Republican Party has shown how internal primaries can realign the entire party’s focus (for better or worse).

Democrats, meanwhile…often treat primaries as dirty words — a nuisance rather than a democratic tool.

But as Hogg rightly points out, this aversion protects incumbents who may be out of touch…ineffective…or simply coasting in safe seats.

If the party truly believes in democracy…it must practice it internally.

Figures like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez…Summer Lee…and Jamaal Bowman emerged through primary challenges. Their victories brought new energy…new voters…and new ideas into the party.

Hogg’s organization, Leaders We Deserve, aims to replicate this model across the country by supporting young…progressive candidates willing to challenge the status quo.

That’s not sabotage — that’s how political movements grow.

It's About Effectiveness, Not Just Age

Crucially, Hogg is careful to distinguish between age and competence. “This is not solely an issue of age — it's an issue of effectiveness that at times is compounded by age,” he writes.

This is an important nuance. There are plenty of energetic…effective older politicians — Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren come to mind — just as there are younger politicians with uninspired or regressive platforms.

Still, the culture that equates tenure with merit…and seniority with leadership capacity…has grown toxic.

Without an infusion of new ideas and new voices…the Democratic Party risks becoming a hollow vessel — well-funded but directionless…busy but ineffective.

The Stakes Are Too High for Timid Leadership

Hogg’s rhetoric is urgent, but not alarmist. He warns that the “crisis of competence and complacency has already cost us an election and millions of Americans their rights.”

While that may sound dramatic…it’s difficult to deny the results of sluggish Democratic leadership in the face of Republican escalation: abortion rights rolled back…voting rights restricted…and the Supreme Court reshaped for a generation.

In this context, Hogg’s call for transformation is not just political — it’s moral.

The country is in a precarious state…with democratic norms under assault and economic inequality deepening.

This is not a moment for managed decline or cautious centrism. It’s a moment that demands vision…action…and risk-taking — all of which the current party culture seems to discourage.

Rebuilding Trust Requires Listening and Risk

Hogg ends his statement with a deeply important insight: “We need to build a party not defined by not being the less bad of two options in voters’ eyes. We need to be the best option period.”

This isn’t just rhetorical flourish.

Polls and turnout trends show that many voters — particularly young people and voters of color — are drifting away from the Democratic Party…not because they support Republicans…but because they feel ignored…unrepresented…and disillusioned.

Winning them back requires more than mobilization tactics or opposition to Trump. It requires a full embrace of democratic renewal — competitive primaries…inclusive platforms…and leaders who actually reflect the electorate’s values and lived experiences.

It means earning trust…not assuming it.

The Path Forward

David Hogg’s statement is a shot across the bow for the Democratic Party — and it should be taken seriously.

He is not an outsider throwing stones…but a committed Democrat who has traveled the country organizing…fundraising…and campaigning. His critique is born of experience and rooted in a deep desire to see the party succeed.

What he’s right about is simple…and vital:

The Democratic Party must change — not just to win…but to matter.

That change begins with recognizing the crisis…embracing democratic competition… and building a vision bold enough to inspire again.

If Democrats fail to do that…they won’t just lose elections — they’ll lose the future.

Let’s Get One Thing Straight: Hogg Said Some Thing’s I Took Issue With

Now, let’s not get carried away. Hogg may have passion and guts, but that doesn’t give him license to throw around every claim like it’s carved in stone.

Take his suggestion that the DNC’s vote to hold a new election was some sort of retaliation for his rabble-rousing.

That’s a neat little narrative — the young idealist pushed out by the crusty establishment. But reality is usually messier and less cinematic.

Without hard evidence that the vote was politically targeted, we’re left in the territory of implication and innuendo — which is not a great place to build credibility.

Then there’s the claim that the “crisis of competence and complacency” has already cost Democrats an election and “millions of Americans their rights.” That sounds bold, even righteous — and it plays well with frustrated voters — but it’s also overcooked.

Losing elections is never about one thing. Yes, stale leadership is part of it…but so are voter suppression…a wildly biased court system…gerrymandering…and a right-wing media machine.

Reducing it all to ineffective party elders sleeping at the wheel makes for a dramatic headline…but it leaves out about 90% of the battlefield.

And while we’re at it, let’s talk about primaries.

Hogg talks about “healthy competition,” but doesn’t account for the fact that even good-intentioned infighting can torch a campaign’s chances in swing districts.

Republicans weaponize Democratic division like it’s a sport…and if your side doesn’t have discipline or timing…your noble primary challenge turns into a general election loss.

Not every race is the Bronx. Sometimes a safe blue seat is a firewall…not dead weight.

Finally, Hogg touts Leaders We Deserve as having spent millions to elect “incredible young people.” Fine. But let’s see the results.

Who won? Where? How close were the races? Without those receipts, we’re dealing in branding…not a proven model.

I’m not saying it’s not worthwhile — only that if you’re going to throw punches at the party’s old guard…you better come to the table with hard data…not just a list of names and a sense of moral superiority.

Okay…my remaining coffee has gotten cold while I’ve been writing—time to warm it up.

I’ll be back soon…with even more.

Warmly,

Jack

Here’s the email from David Hogg:

Jack, I am no longer a DNC Vice Chair.

The DNC Vote to have a new election comes after weeks of contention about our work here at Leaders We Deserve, especially our plan to challenge ineffective Democrats in the primaries.

I started Leaders We Deserve for a simple purpose: to be the EMILY's List for progressive young Democrats. We’ve sought to find the best of the best of our generation and do everything we can to help them run the best campaigns possible and get the financial support they need to win.

We spent millions last year fighting to elect incredible young people: Molly Cook, Mo Jenkins, Averie Bishop and Kristian Carranza in Texas; Bryce Berry and Ashwin Ramaswami in Georgia; Dante Pittman in North Carolina, Nadarius Clark in Virginia, Christine Cockley in Ohio, Sarah McBride in Delaware, Nate Douglas in Florida, Oscar De Los Santos in Arizona and others. We focused on open blue seats and defeating incumbent Republicans, hoping that these open seats would be space enough to achieve what we wanted.

After seeing a serious lack of vision from Democratic leaders, too many of them asleep at the wheel, and Democrats dying in office that have helped to hand Republicans an expanded majority, it became clear that Leaders We Deserve had to start primarying incumbents and directly challenging the culture of seniority politics that brought our party to this place to help get our party into fighting shape again.

We have a real challenge ahead of us. We lost voting share with almost every demographic across the board, and despite all that Trump has done, our approvals remain at 27%.

If we don’t show our country how we are dramatically changing and provide an alternative vision for the future as a party, we will continue to lose. Not because we don't have money, but because we don’t have a compelling vision for the future and we lack the courage we used to have to take on massive policy fights that have helped millions like the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, the first Assault Weapons ban and more.

Even if we had gained a three seat Congressional majority, the three deaths this session would have once again put millions of Americans on the line.

Let me be clear: this is not solely an issue of age — it's an issue of effectiveness that at times is compounded by age.

This is not a call for every older person to leave government. There are lots of great older people who we need, there’s lots of terrible younger people we don’t.

But it’s clear this culture of staying in power until you die or simply fail to do a good job but don’t need to worry about a challenge because you are in a safe seat has become an existential threat to the future of this party and nation that must be addressed.

This crisis of competence and complacency has already cost us an election and millions of Americans their rights. Let's not let it cost us the country.

This culture simply will not change by only focusing on open seats or just throwing half a billion dollars into 30 competitive House seats. We must change the culture of our party that has brought us here and if there is anything activism or history teaches us it's that comfortable people, especially comfortable people with power, do not change. In this moment of crisis, comfort is not an option.

The American people are looking for an answer for how to revive the American Dream that they feel has become more of a fiction than a possibility. We have a crisis of faith in this country, in our elected leaders and in our parties. So far Donald Trump has convinced many people that the answer is to look backward instead of forward. At this moment of darkness we have a sacred obligation not to this party, but to this country as a party.

In his 1960 acceptance speech to the DNC to accept the Democratic nomination to become president, John F. Kennedy said:

“The times are too grave, the challenge too urgent, and the stakes too high — to permit the customary passions of political debate. We are not here to curse the darkness; we are here to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future.”

We relight that candle by providing a new vision for the future and leaders to bring us there. That new vision will come from new leaders. Building a future where voters vote for us not because of who we aren’t but because of who we are. That is why it is important we not only defeat Republicans but we use a healthy competitive primary process to make us a stronger party.

The alternative is a continuation of the politics that brought our party to this place. That is unacceptable. We must embrace a healthy culture of competitive primaries to build the strongest party possible.

Being a Democrat means believing in the politics of the possible like we did after Parkland. It's about believing in who we could be not only as a party but as a country. If we put our minds to it and we work hard enough, we can do anything, no matter what stands in our way. That’s why I’m a Democrat.

I came into this role to play a positive role in creating the change our party needs. It is clear that there is a fundamental disagreement about the role of a Vice Chair — and it's okay to have disagreements. What isn’t okay is allowing this to remain our focus when there is so much more we need to be focused on.

Ultimately, I have decided to not run in this upcoming election so the party can focus on what really matters. I need to do this work with Leaders We Deserve, and it is going to remain my number one mission to build the strongest party possible.

I’m thankful to everyone who has supported me in this role. I’m proud to have travelled to 10 states to do 30+ events, raising money for state parties, organizing with young Democrats, and getting out the vote for special elections in Wisconsin and Florida.

I have nothing but admiration and respect for my fellow officers. Even though we have disagreements, we all are here to build the strongest party possible.

Let me be extremely clear: Yes, we need to defeat Republicans. Leaders We Deserve will have many candidates challenging Republican incumbents. But we also need to build a party not defined by not being the less bad of two options in voters' eyes. We need to be the best option period at every level of government.

That change can only come through a full embrace of Democracy not only to defeat Republicans but to elect new Democrats to show voters how we are changing and regain their trust by listening to them, doing all we can to give them the best representation possible. Leaders We Deserve exists to do just that.

We need your support to do this work, Jack. If you’re with us in the fights ahead, consider donating $3 or anything that makes sense for you today.

Thank you,

David Hogg