Philip M. Bailey

I think that the theme of these primaries for the Democrats, this will always, I think, be the tension here.

There is a growing sense of Democrats that they are too loyal to their donor base, that they are just as bad as Republicans.

And that was something that was a theme both in the 2016 elections and 2024.

I think what Donald Trump has done with sort of very blitzing executive orders and executive action, I think what Donald Trump has done is put a lot of pressure on mainstream Democrats.

Why, when you get in there, you can't get these things done so quickly.

So there is, I think, going to be an energy from a more activist left perspective of, hey, we need to get in here and really change things fundamentally.

And that's really the issue of donors.

I think that the donor class in the Democratic Party will be criticized heavily by a lot of these candidates.

The real question, you know, as many of them question and call out, like James Tallarico questioning, calling out the billionaire class and the Epstein class, as I think Senator John Ossoff of Georgia called them in a recent speech.

That tension will remain with Democrats for a long period of time.

I don't think one primary season will wash that away.

But I do think you're going to see a continued struggle for Democrats in the future.

Their numbers have not necessarily improved.

It's just that Donald Trump's numbers have tanked.

There's going to be this continued tension between do we continue to go after Donald Trump, who is someone who generates a lightning rod on the left anytime he's mentioned or brought up?

At the same time, Democrats feel like we have to move beyond Donald Trump.

He won't be necessarily president forever.

I know there's a lot of folks on the left who think that he might try to be president for a third term.

But there is this tension here that I don't think will be resolved just because voters pick younger, more left-leaning candidates.

No problem.