Left, right and nowhere to go: Both Republicans and Democrats abandoning the center
by Joseph Curl · The Washington TimesOPINION:
America’s political center is tired, angry and increasingly ignored — and both parties are about to make that problem much, much worse.
More than 40% of Americans don’t identify with either of the two major political parties. Research published in American Politics Research confirms what most of us already sense: The largest bloc in the American electorate is moderate, unaffiliated and deeply frustrated with a system that keeps locking them out of the conversation.
In nearly half the country, these voters can’t even participate in primary elections. The biggest group in American politics has the least power in it. So what are the two major parties doing about this? Sprinting in opposite directions, naturally.
Let’s start with the Republicans. With President Trump having reshaped the party in his image, the GOP now believes it has a mandate to go further right (it still has no idea how wrong it is).
And who’s waiting in the wings to carry that torch? Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J.D. Vance — two men who have spent years auditioning for the role of Trump Without Trump, and neither of whom has demonstrated that he can win a national election on his own terms.
The Republican base may be energized, but the math of a general election is unforgiving. Winning the primary is not the same as winning the country.
On the other side of the aisle, Democrats have their own reckoning coming — and it’s going to be loud. The democratic socialist wing of the party has been quietly, then not so quietly, racking up wins.
Zohran Mamdani is now mayor of New York City. Katie Wilson runs Seattle. Janeese Lewis George just won the Democratic primary for mayor of the District of Columbia. And in congressional primaries, democratic socialists knocked off incumbents Dan Goldman, Adriano Espaillat and Diana DeGette — names that once seemed untouchable.
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None of this happened by accident. As one Hill commentator noted, “Democratic socialists have proven adept at political messaging. They have made appealing campaign promises, delivered passionate speeches and clever sound bites, and skillfully utilized ads and social media.” They are, whatever you think of their platform, very good at this.
Add to this the growing chatter about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York Democrat, mounting a theoretical presidential run in 2028, and it’s clear that the Democratic Party’s center of gravity is shifting leftward — fast. The establishment may not love it, but they’re losing the argument.
Then there’s California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has spent years positioning himself as the reasonable, telegenic alternative — the Democrat who could actually win a general election. But watch closely.
As the party’s base moves left and the pressure to differentiate from a rightward-lurching GOP intensifies, expect Mr. Newsom to move with it. Politicians follow voters, and right now, Democratic primary voters are following democratic socialists.
Fox News, to its credit, has been doing its best to make all of this sound terrifying. In the lead-up to the 2024 New York primaries, the network aired a segment warning viewers about the rise of the radical left, complete with alarming graphics listing the democratic socialist agenda: “Medicare for All,” ending military aid to Israel, taxing the wealthy.
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The problem? Polls consistently show that most Americans support these positions. A July AP-NORC poll found that 40% of Americans think the U.S. is “too supportive” of Israel. Pew found that 66% believe the government has a responsibility to ensure healthcare coverage for all Americans.
Fox News set out to sound the alarm and ended up writing campaign ads.
The democratic socialists who win in 2026 and beyond will face the hard arithmetic of coalition-building, budget constraints and a general electorate that remains more centrist than any primary suggests. A recent Gallup poll found that only 39% of U.S. adults view socialism favorably — a number that climbs to 66% among Democrats but craters to 14% among Republicans and 38% among independents.
Those independents — the moderates, the frustrated, the locked out — are the people both parties keep failing. And yet their votes will almost certainly decide 2028.
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“For generations, workers have been stuck with a Democratic Party establishment selling us out to billionaires, landlords, and warmongers,” said the co-chairman of the New York DSA, Gustavo Gordillo. “After 10 years of building power here in New York, our movement is proving that democratic socialists do more than run winning campaigns — we govern with greater competence, and we actually deliver on our promises.”
Maybe. But delivering on promises in a city that already leans hard left is not the same as persuading a country that mostly just wants someone — anyone — who makes sense.
That’s the opening. The question is whether either party will bother to walk through it.
• Joseph Curl covered the White House and politics for a decade for The Washington Times. He can be reached at josephcurl@gmail.com.
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