Democrats know socialism is a loser with most American voters. The polling on this isn't close, isn't new, and surely is not a secret inside the party's own headquarters. And yet the socialist wing of the Democrat Party keeps getting louder and more organized, and it keeps winning primaries in districts that matter. That's a problem heading into midterm elections that Democrats are supposed to win running away.
Instead, they're about to spend the rest of the year playing defense.
It doesn't take a wave of socialist candidates to put a party on its heels. It just takes a few saying the quiet part out loud on camera. Every reporter covering a competitive House race this fall now has a built-in follow-up question for the Democrat running there: “Do you agree with your party's socialist candidates, or don't you?” There's no good answer. Say yes, and swing voters flee. Say no, and the activists who now do a lot of the party's field organizing stay home in November.
Add that to a Democrat Party already drowning in fundraising problems and sitting on a pile of committee debt, and you get something close to a five-alarm fire heading into election season.
Democrat leaders have a stock answer for all of this. They call themselves a "big tent" party, one with room for every flavor of opinion from Wall Street donors to democratic socialists.
If that were really the case, the party wouldn’t be talking about ousting Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.). His only crime is that he’s refused to march in lockstep with the far left on Israel, the border, and socialism, and now leftist activists inside his own party are recruiting a primary challenger to push him out.
Some tent.
Fox News' The Five co-host Kayleigh McEnany laid out exactly why that "big tent" talk falls apart the moment you look at who's actually inside it, during Monday's show.
"You cannot have it both ways," McEnany said. "You cannot have a broad caucus with communists that are very much at odds with the foundation of our governing system."
She pointed to the Democratic Socialists of America's platform, which now calls for scrapping the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the presidency itself. "I'm not using hyperbole there. That's the new platform," McEnany said.
McEnany relayed a comment from House Speaker Mike Johnson. "The barbarians are in the gate," he told her, meaning the far-left candidates now winning primaries nationwide.
ICYMI: Democrats Aren’t Really About Solving Problems
She rattled off the roster. Darializa Avila Chevalier, whom McEnany pointed out "used the American flag as a napkin." Claire Valdez is on track to win her race; she celebrated her primary win by declaring, "Solidarity forever, abolish ICE, free Palestine, organize your union, join the DSA." And Melat Kiros in Colorado, who, when asked whether 9/11 was inevitable, answered it was "inevitable in the sense that we destabilized a lot of the Middle East, which led people to believe that another act of violence was the only response."
Compare that to the roster of “blue dog" Democrats, the more moderate members who were simply asked to sign onto capitalism, fiscal responsibility, and patriotism as a governing platform. Just over a dozen House Democrats signed on. "The blue dog Democrat is an extinct species," McEnany said.
So which of those two groups do you think is running the Democrat Party's energy and enthusiasm right now?
"Those people aren't welcome in the tent; they'll burn down the tent," McEnany said. "Not welcome in the caucus; they'll tear down the caucus."
“You cannot have it BOTH WAYS!” @kayleighmcenany warns Democrats cannot claim to have a broad tent while welcoming DSA members whose views are “at odds” with America’s constitutional system: “They will BURN DOWN THE TENT.” 🔥 pic.twitter.com/nOSEhlh2iI
— The Five (@TheFive) August 17, 2026
That's the real problem Democrats are either ignoring or don’t realize is happening. Every socialist candidate who wins a primary this cycle doesn't just win a nomination. Each one gives Republicans a talking point that will follow every other Democrat on the ballot through November. Combined with a party already short on cash and in debt, the socialism problem is far worse than a messaging headache. It's the fight that decides whether Democrats spend the next two years in the majority or licking their wounds and explaining what went wrong.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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