Many of the young liberals, 35 and under, don’t want stability, they want real change. Politicians calling themselves Democratic Socialists need to explain their policies to voters. Many republicans want universal healthcare. This is actually America First. If we have democratic socialists losing because the messaging is weak and if the DNC is not beating this drum loudly over every media platform and taking it rural then we have the DNC to blame.
Time for us old men to step aside and let the young folks take charge. We can talk about the horrors of "cominism" over breakfast at McDonald's on Saturday morning.
Why are DSA candidates gaining ground? Because people are tired of establishment Dem centrists, Dixiecrats, or Republican lights who never get anything ACTUALLY done. Times they are a changin’ and using the word socialist isn’t the boogyman old school Dems think it is anymore not when we actually want many of their policies effectuated.
I'm not a Mainer, and thus have no skin in this game. But regardless of what Platner decides, I see a ray of sunshine within this particular storm cloud.
Take a look at the most popular political figures in the country right now.
Top 6 most popular are liberal Democrats, or Democratic socialists. No centrist Democrats, no Republicans of any kind.
Platner may not appear on this list, but his platform does….at the top. Mainers knew from the beginning that his character was in question, but his platform is why he won his primary, personal issues notwithstanding.
I find that hopeful. The DemSoc movement is exploding, and the GOP knows it.
They are Trump's ‘Communists’. Why else would he and the GOP suddenly start banging this particular drum so loudly and so often?
AOC is 6th most popular, nearly tied with the top Republican, Rubio, and Kamala Harris.
You'll also notice how few straight white men there are in the top third of this list. And Rubio, a POC and son of immigrants, has the third highest 'don't know' percentages of the 7 Republicans mentioned by name….but still ranks higher than the rest.
Vance and Trump are tied, BEHIND the Republican party….and way behind Jon Ossof at #5, even though 55% of respondents admitted they knew nothing about him!!
AND they're both also ranked behind Gavin Newsom. Musk ranks even lower.
Tucker Carlson, who's been tagged as the Great White Hope of Republicans in 2028 barely made the list, and look at the percentages of people that don't know anything about him compared to the same number for AOC....and then see the wide disparity in their rankings.
Yikes, that does not speak well of Carlson and where he ranks with the people that DO know him. Conversely, it speaks well of the Democratic socialist platform that AOC, with nearly the same recognition percentage, ranks so close to the top
Added to this, the non-partisan platform http://vote.org/ reports record-breaking voter registration in the first half of 2026.
38% of those who used the platform to register, so far this year were 18-years-old, and nearly 80% were under the age of 35.
Who do you think these new young voters are going to support?
No wonder Republicans are trotting out that old dead horse of McCarthyism.
They have nothing else to offer.
And look where Dem party leaders appear on the list. They also have nothing to offer, but folks seem to recognize who does, and they're still Democrats.
As an interesting side note...my mom, a three time Trump voter....loved Bernie Sanders in 2016.
What survey are you citing here? I personally doubt that American Democratic Socialism will have much coherence without Bernie to carry the banner and explain what it represents. The term is almost inexplicable as it seeks to redefine what “socialism” actually means. Bernie has the good sense to talk about billionaires and not oligarchs. We forget that Zohran Mamdani barely broke 50% against the ghastly Andrew Cuomo and a clownish Republican candidate. He does not have a “mandate” and persists in talking divisively about Israel when that issue is not part of his portfolio as mayor. I would prefer that we all call ourselves Democrats without confounding everyone with the term Democratic Socialism that suggests a complete repudiation of capitalism. Elizabeth Warren provides a model of how progressive policies can be articulated and advocated.
By conflating Platner's woes with the recent small moment democratic socialists are having, you do a disservice to your readers. Dem socialists had nothing to do with Platner's baggage, nor the fact that Mills was the other option. You seem to be surprised by the idea that primaries tend to be dominated by the more extreme wings of every political party. My other 2 cents ... i hope Platner withdraws and Mills runs against Collins. With a smart few months of campaigning, Mills can win the seat.
If the allegations about Graham are substantiated, he could become a serious liability. Voters don’t want a second Trump‑style figure representing their state, and Democrats especially reject that kind of behavior. Associating our party with anyone who mirrors Trump’s known behavior toward women risks damaging our brand and weakening the trust we’ve worked to rebuild.
Many voters are put off by a party that championed sweeping, unrealistic goals without regard for practical consequences.
We can’t lose sight of our central mission to retake the congress, stabilize the economic turmoil created under Trump, fully restore the Affordable Care Act, repair the broader economy, and rebuild America’s international reputation.
Troy Jackson is Bernie Sanders backed and was my first choice for Governor. He didn't quite get enough votes but it was split by some excellent candidates with similar platforms. Troy also has some big unions on his side.
Troy is a logger from up North and has a background in Maine State level politics, he served as the President of the Maine Senate. Apparently the only reason Troy hasn't run for Senate Senate is because he didn't want to be on the Federal level. Given the insane reality we find ourselves in, he's likely changed his mind about it.
From what I read in the New York Times today, Troy Jackson seems like an excellent option so long as he really wants to do it. He has the DSA creds that should mollify angry Platner voters. He has grown on some culture war issues like reproductive freedom and LGBT rights having emerged from a conservative Catholic background. He seems very much a Mainer. Maybe Platner could withdraw and endorse Jackson to help Maine Dems settle the matter and get pointed toward November.
Many of the young liberals, 35 and under, don’t want stability, they want real change. Politicians calling themselves Democratic Socialists need to explain their policies to voters. Many republicans want universal healthcare. This is actually America First. If we have democratic socialists losing because the messaging is weak and if the DNC is not beating this drum loudly over every media platform and taking it rural then we have the DNC to blame.
Time for us old men to step aside and let the young folks take charge. We can talk about the horrors of "cominism" over breakfast at McDonald's on Saturday morning.
As an Independent who leans Democrat, to your observations I say, Amen. Now if only the Democratic establishment can learn from such reality.
Why are DSA candidates gaining ground? Because people are tired of establishment Dem centrists, Dixiecrats, or Republican lights who never get anything ACTUALLY done. Times they are a changin’ and using the word socialist isn’t the boogyman old school Dems think it is anymore not when we actually want many of their policies effectuated.
Get over it.
I'm not a Mainer, and thus have no skin in this game. But regardless of what Platner decides, I see a ray of sunshine within this particular storm cloud.
Take a look at the most popular political figures in the country right now.
Top 6 most popular are liberal Democrats, or Democratic socialists. No centrist Democrats, no Republicans of any kind.
Platner may not appear on this list, but his platform does….at the top. Mainers knew from the beginning that his character was in question, but his platform is why he won his primary, personal issues notwithstanding.
I find that hopeful. The DemSoc movement is exploding, and the GOP knows it.
They are Trump's ‘Communists’. Why else would he and the GOP suddenly start banging this particular drum so loudly and so often?
AOC is 6th most popular, nearly tied with the top Republican, Rubio, and Kamala Harris.
You'll also notice how few straight white men there are in the top third of this list. And Rubio, a POC and son of immigrants, has the third highest 'don't know' percentages of the 7 Republicans mentioned by name….but still ranks higher than the rest.
Vance and Trump are tied, BEHIND the Republican party….and way behind Jon Ossof at #5, even though 55% of respondents admitted they knew nothing about him!!
AND they're both also ranked behind Gavin Newsom. Musk ranks even lower.
Tucker Carlson, who's been tagged as the Great White Hope of Republicans in 2028 barely made the list, and look at the percentages of people that don't know anything about him compared to the same number for AOC....and then see the wide disparity in their rankings.
Yikes, that does not speak well of Carlson and where he ranks with the people that DO know him. Conversely, it speaks well of the Democratic socialist platform that AOC, with nearly the same recognition percentage, ranks so close to the top
Added to this, the non-partisan platform http://vote.org/ reports record-breaking voter registration in the first half of 2026.
38% of those who used the platform to register, so far this year were 18-years-old, and nearly 80% were under the age of 35.
Who do you think these new young voters are going to support?
No wonder Republicans are trotting out that old dead horse of McCarthyism.
They have nothing else to offer.
And look where Dem party leaders appear on the list. They also have nothing to offer, but folks seem to recognize who does, and they're still Democrats.
As an interesting side note...my mom, a three time Trump voter....loved Bernie Sanders in 2016.
What survey are you citing here? I personally doubt that American Democratic Socialism will have much coherence without Bernie to carry the banner and explain what it represents. The term is almost inexplicable as it seeks to redefine what “socialism” actually means. Bernie has the good sense to talk about billionaires and not oligarchs. We forget that Zohran Mamdani barely broke 50% against the ghastly Andrew Cuomo and a clownish Republican candidate. He does not have a “mandate” and persists in talking divisively about Israel when that issue is not part of his portfolio as mayor. I would prefer that we all call ourselves Democrats without confounding everyone with the term Democratic Socialism that suggests a complete repudiation of capitalism. Elizabeth Warren provides a model of how progressive policies can be articulated and advocated.
By conflating Platner's woes with the recent small moment democratic socialists are having, you do a disservice to your readers. Dem socialists had nothing to do with Platner's baggage, nor the fact that Mills was the other option. You seem to be surprised by the idea that primaries tend to be dominated by the more extreme wings of every political party. My other 2 cents ... i hope Platner withdraws and Mills runs against Collins. With a smart few months of campaigning, Mills can win the seat.
If the allegations about Graham are substantiated, he could become a serious liability. Voters don’t want a second Trump‑style figure representing their state, and Democrats especially reject that kind of behavior. Associating our party with anyone who mirrors Trump’s known behavior toward women risks damaging our brand and weakening the trust we’ve worked to rebuild.
Many voters are put off by a party that championed sweeping, unrealistic goals without regard for practical consequences.
We can’t lose sight of our central mission to retake the congress, stabilize the economic turmoil created under Trump, fully restore the Affordable Care Act, repair the broader economy, and rebuild America’s international reputation.
Troy Jackson is Bernie Sanders backed and was my first choice for Governor. He didn't quite get enough votes but it was split by some excellent candidates with similar platforms. Troy also has some big unions on his side.
Troy is a logger from up North and has a background in Maine State level politics, he served as the President of the Maine Senate. Apparently the only reason Troy hasn't run for Senate Senate is because he didn't want to be on the Federal level. Given the insane reality we find ourselves in, he's likely changed his mind about it.
https://www.notus.org/campaigns/graham-platner-maine-senate-troy-jackson
From what I read in the New York Times today, Troy Jackson seems like an excellent option so long as he really wants to do it. He has the DSA creds that should mollify angry Platner voters. He has grown on some culture war issues like reproductive freedom and LGBT rights having emerged from a conservative Catholic background. He seems very much a Mainer. Maybe Platner could withdraw and endorse Jackson to help Maine Dems settle the matter and get pointed toward November.
Thank you for this important message