Rising anger among Democrats fuels talk of Tea Party-style backlash
Democrats are seeing signs of growing energy on the grassroots level, raising questions about the possibility of a Tea Party-style movement from the party’s progressive flank.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) drew tens of thousands on stops for their “Fighting Oligarchy Tour” over the weekend, illustrating what progressives say is their message’s resonance among voters.
Meanwhile, progressive lawmakers are signaling the need for a revamp in leadership and messaging.
“The American people are fed up with the old guard, there needs to be a renewal,” Khanna, who has been holding packed town halls in GOP-controlled House districts in California, told CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday. “You know, in Silicon Valley, when a company isn’t doing well, you don’t keep the same team.”
The growing grassroots energy carries echoes of the Tea Party movement, a conservative movement that began in 2007 and became part of the mainstream political discourse in 2010, when Republicans rode a populist wave to capture 63 seats in the House during the midterms under then-President Obama.
Bash on Sunday asked Khanna directly about whether he saw a similar phenomenon happening among the Democratic grassoots now. While the congressman acknowledged the growing frustration with the base, he disputed the idea that there was a Tea Party-style movement forming.
“Is it going to be a Tea Party? No, because the Tea Party wanted to basically destroy the government, tear down the government…Many Democrats, there’s anger, but there’s also aspiration,” Khanna said. “We want to build things, like Medicare for All, like a living wage and a lot of other policies. So you’re going to see a new generation come in with a compelling economic message.”
The question comes as many House Democrats have been on the receiving end of complaints from constituents over their party’s response to the Trump administration, fueling speculation of a backlash to the party’s incumbents in 2026.
That frustration reached a fever pitch earlier this month after Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted to advance a House Republican-crafted funding bill. While Schumer argued the move was better than allowing for a government shutdown, it drew immediate backlash from many in his party who argued he was simply caving to the GOP.
Schumer has said he isn’t going anywhere, though the controversy has spurred speculation that he could draw a primary challenger in 2028 — including from Ocasio-Cortez.
Meanwhile, other Democratic incuments are staring down primary opponents. On Monday, progressive media personality Kat Abughazaleh announced she was challenging longtime Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) in Illinois’s 9th Congressional District.
“Donald Trump and Elon Musk are dismantling our country piece by piece and so many Democrats seem content to just sit back and let them,” Abughazaleh said in her launch video. “While current Democratic leadership might be fine cowering to Trump, I’m not.”
Progressives say the battle bewing within the Democratic Party is less about ideology and more about how to take on Trump.
“The divide in the Democratic Party is not between left and moderate,” said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “It’s between those who are fighting with backbone and those who are perceived not to be meeting the meeting the moment.”
“I think that means anybody could be subject to a primary back home if they aren’t perceived as equipped or willing to meet this moment with backbone,” he added.
Indeed, many voters have expressed their anger at Democratic lawmakers over what they see as a meek response to Republicans.
“They fight dirtier and we’re not willing to get in the mud with them. Maybe it’s time we start getting a little bit dirtier with our messaging,” one attendee at a Scottsdale, Ariz. town hall told Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.).
The dynamic has also played out publicly among Democrats. Last week, Ocasio-Cortez took to X to praise former Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.) for criticizing his former primary opponent Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) over his vote in favor of the government funding bill.
“I was wrong about you and I’m sorry. Where do I submit my Conor Lamb apology form,” Ocasio-Cortez said, referring to supporting Fetterman, who was viewed as the progressive in the 2022 primary.
House Democrats have also been on the receiving end of criticism. Last week, Maryland Rep. Glenn Ivey (D) was accused of being too “calm” at a raucous town hall, while one attendee at a town hall held by California Rep.Gil Cisneros (D) told him she wished he would “be angry.”
The town halls came as Democrats were seeking to use the forums to go on the offense against House Republicans through holding town halls in their districts. And the effort from Democrats has made headway, with the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), and the Association of State Democratic Committees (ASDC) targeting a number of House Republicans with town halls, including Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.), Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) and Rep. Gabe Evans (R-Colo.).
Progressives have also gotten in on the action. Khanna held town halls in GOP districts represented by California Reps. Young Kim (R), David Valadao (R), and Ken Calvert (R) over the weekend. Ocasio-Cortez rallied in Evans’s district on Friday.
There’s no question that much of the anger is directed at the Trump administration over cuts from the Department of Government Efficiency, as well as potential cuts in Congress to Medicaid. Republicans adamantly deny that they plan on cutting Medicaid.
However, progressives point out that a number of these rallies are happening because of what they call the Democratic leadership vacuum in Washington.
“The reason why a lot of these rallies are happening is because of a lack of clear leadership and direction from those that are in charge on the Democratic side, I’m talking specifically [in] House and Senate,” said Paco Fabian, director of campaigns at the Sanders founded group Our Revolution.
Still, Fabian noted that it is still too early to tell whether we will see widespread primary challenges as a result of the grassroots energy.
“Will that translate into more progressives running for Congress or for any elected office? It remains to be seen,” he said.
Green said the rallies, particularly those held by Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, can be viewed as an effort to mobilize voters to stand up to the administration.
“What I see AOC and Bernie doing is not a messaging exercise but an organizing exercise. They are getting people comfortable with getting out of their houses and rallying together,” Green said.
“And anybody who’s in those stadiums or looking around seeing 15,000 other people are thinking when the time is right, I won’t be alone.”
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