Progressive powerhouses launch primary war against Democratic establishment ahead of 2026 elections

A slate of progressive powerhouses rushed to endorse Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam upon launching a Democratic primary challenge against Rep. Valerie Foushee, D-N.C., on Thursday — the latest sign that the party’s far-left flank is gearing up to push the Democratic establishment further left ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

While the Democratic Party has claimed to be “on the offense” heading into the midterms — buoyed by two gubernatorial wins, success in California’s redistricting fight and an upset victory in Miami’s mayoral race — the growing docket of progressive primary challengers threatens to once again expose the party’s widening generational and ideological rift.

Allam entered the Democratic primary for North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District on Thursday with support from progressive star Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and endorsements from a slew of progressive groups, including Justice Democrats, Leaders We Deserve, Sunrise Movement, Indian American Impact and the Working Families Party.

“I’m not here to stay quiet while Washington fails us,” Allam said in her campaign launch video. “I’m here to fight for the people who built this district. This seat doesn’t belong to lobbyists and billionaires. It belongs to us. To use every dollar, resource and tool to fight back against Trump’s authoritarianism and corporate greed, and to build a brighter future for every North Carolinian.”

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Allam accused Foushee of being “silent” this year while North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District faced federal funding cuts, especially in research grants, tied to President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda and Elon Musk’s mandate to slash government waste, fraud and abuse.

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Foushee did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Former Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg, a 25-year-old activist and founder of Leaders We Deserve, said Thursday that he was “proud” to support Allam’s primary campaign.

Hogg sparked an intra-party rift earlier this year when he announced he would invest millions through his super PAC, Leaders We Deserve, to primary older, incumbent Democrats who he said are “asleep at the wheel.”

Leaders We Deserve has led a nationwide effort to elect young, progressive candidates to Congress and statewide legislatures across the U.S.

The group endorsed high-profile progressive Democrats this year, including New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and congressional candidate and Gen Z activist Deja Foxx, who lost a special election to Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., this year.

Hogg resigned from his vice chair position earlier this year after DNC Chair Ken Martin gave him an ultimatum to either forego his involvement with Leaders We Deserve or resign from his vice chair role. Amid a procedural challenge to his election, Hogg resigned, arguing party politics were at play in pushing him out — an accusation the DNC has rejected.

The 25-year-old’s plan to primary challenge Democrats in safe, blue districts triggered a debate about the party’s future as Democrats spent much of 2025 without a clear message or leader following losses up and down the ballot last year.

On the heels of Mamdani’s success in New York City — a race that took national politics by storm as a socialist millennial was elected to lead the largest city in the U.S. — more progressive, anti-establishment House candidates have been jumping into races across the U.S.

As California redraws its congressional map ahead of next year’s midterms, Leaders We Deserve is supporting progressive Planned Parenthood leader Lauren Babb Tomlinson for California’s 6th Congressional District and educator Randy Villegas for California’s 22nd.

And while Texas finalizes representation under its new congressional maps, Leaders We Deserve is backing Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee in the race for Texas’ 18th Congressional District, even as longtime Rep. Al Green, who currently represents the 9th District, also prepares to run for the seat in 2026.

The progressive group is also supporting Menefee this January in the 18th District’s special election.

Leaders We Deserve has also endorsed Michigan state Rep. Donavan McKinney in his Democratic primary challenge against Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., and Tennessee state Rep. Justin J. Pearson’s bid for longtime Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen’s seat in the 2026 Democratic primary.

In San Francisco, two high-profile Democratic challengers announced campaigns for former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s congressional seat before she had confirmed her plans to retire from the seat she has held since 1987 at the end of next year.

Saikat Chakrabarti, former chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and state senator Scott Wiener, are running to Pelosi’s left, part of a broader coast-to-coast battle for the Democratic Party’s progressive base.

Chakrabarti is also a co-founder of Justice Democrats, a super PAC focused on recruiting a new generation of leaders to Congress who endorsed Allam this week.

Like Leaders We Deserve, Justice Democrats has thrown its support behind a slew of progressive Democratic primary challenges, including McKinney in Michigan and Pearson in Tennessee.

Justice Democrats is also supporting former Rep. Cori Bush’s comeback campaign for Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, now held by a comparably more moderate Rep. Wesley Bell, who defeated Bush in a Democratic primary last year.

The group has also endorsed Angela Gonzales-Torres for California’s 34th Congressional District, which is currently represented by Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif.; Melat Kiros for Colorado’s 1st Congressional District against incumbent Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette; and Darializa Avila Chevalier for New York’s 13th Congressional District, challenging longtime Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y.

And just this week, Brad Lander secured his own high-profile endorsements in his primary challenge against Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., who refused to endorse Mamdani’s mayoral campaign.

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Lander is considered the more progressive candidate for his outright condemnation of the war in Gaza, while Goldman told CBS New York’s Marcia Kramer that he feared Mamdani wouldn’t do enough to protect Jewish New Yorkers.

Since launching his campaign, Lander has secured endorsements from Mamdani, Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and the New York Working Families Party.