If Democrats make major gains in Tuesday’s midterm elections, one longtime organizer says they may have President Donald Trump to thank.
Many Democratic voters interviewed across the region say their party’s messaging has gone stale and needs to change before the 2028 presidential election. Where they split is on direction: Should the party move toward a more progressive, democratic socialist platform, or toward the center?
That question is at the heart of the debate. For now, Democrats are confident to score some victories on Election Day, but not necessarily because Democrats are more appealing than the were two years ago.
Billy Wimsatt, executive director of the Movement Voter Project based in Florence, said it isn’t necessarily Democratic messaging or policies resonating with voters. It may be Trump’s repeated acts of political self-sabotage more than anything.
“I think that, soberingly, it’s mostly the Trump dumpster fire,” he said, diagnosing why many voters may vote blue this November, referring to the Democratic Party color. “It’s much more of a red undertow than a Democratic wave.”
A veteran of voter mobilization, Wimsatt’s political street cred includes working for Rock the Vote and President Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. The Movement Voter Project (MVP) has raised millions of dollars across the country, pouring funds into more than 60 progressive campaigns.
Through its organizing efforts, MVP has directed $30 million in funding to hundreds of organizations working in battleground House and Senate races, as well as gubernatorial contests, said Wimsatt.
Wimsatt noted it is typical for the party holding the White House to face an uphill battle in the midterms. History has shown the party in the White House rarely gains seats or even holds ground halfway through their terms.
Republicans pummeled Democrats in 2024, winning control of Congress and the White House as part of a so-called “red wave” and “mandate” from the American electorate. But the tides seem to be turning the other way two years later.
Now, control of the U.S. House and Senate is up for grabs, and Republicans increasingly find themselves on the defensive as they try to hold on to their majorities. Currently, Republicans hold 53 seats in the Senate, compared with 47 held by Democrats and independents who caucus with them.
With Republican Vice President JD Vance’s ability to break tie votes, Democrats need 51 seats to win control of the chamber.
All 435 seats in the House of Representatives will be decided by voters. There are currently 214 Democrats and 219 Republicans in the House. Democrats will need to maintain their seats and tack on at least six more to reach a majority.
The most straightforward path for Democrats to win the majority involves holding all of their seats, including the battlegrounds of Georgia, Michigan and New Hampshire. On top of that, they will need to pick up four more seats, and their best opportunities are in Alaska, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas, political experts predict.
‘Nauseously optimistic’
Wimsatt describes the current pulse among Democratic voters heading into the high-stakes midterms as “nauseously optimistic.”
Nauseous because of Trump’s “shenanigans,” but optimistic because things appear to be shaping up well for Democrats, he said.
But the end goal is not 2026. It is 2028, said Wimsatt.
In the next presidential election cycle, Democrats should have their sights set on winning a trifecta of their own, “so we don’t end up back in this situation in 2030, 2032,” said Wimsatt.
But how to get there is where the disagreements start.
The establishment is cheering the ascendance of Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who is poised to become the nation’s first Black House speaker should Democrats win the majority. Frustrated progressives, however, believe Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are part of the problem. And they’re demanding sweeping change in the people and policies guiding their party.
Such demands are especially pronounced among the Democrats aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America. Currently, just two DSA-backed members serve in the House of Representatives. Their numbers are expected to swell to at least seven in the new Congress thanks to the success of the slate of candidates backed by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani in the primaries.
Residents weigh in
Disagreements on the future of the Democratic Party were on full display locally during a recent round of on-the-street interviews conducted by the Gazette, as Pioneer Valley residents pitched their takes for the party’s future.
There were points of broad agreement, however.
It was common to hear that Republicans consistently win the social media wars and are more savvy online. It was also a repeated theme that Democrats are extremely poor with messaging. There was also a widespread sentiment that Democratic campaigns fail to touch on issues with everyday working people, and tend to focus on an elitist class of voters.
Danielle Moskowitz, a recent Northampton transplant who describes herself as far left politically, said she hopes the Democratic Party moves toward a more democratic socialist platform.
“I would love for there to be more Mamdani-like figures,” she said.
Moskowitz said the traditional Democratic establishment has become increasingly out of touch, particularly with younger voters.
“The Democratic machine, as visible as it’s been, has obviously been a huge failure, extremely out of touch, and younger folks, certainly a lot of millennials and Gen Z, we’re just not going to deal with it,” she said.
She said Democrats should prioritize universal childcare and policies that improve the daily lives of working people.
“There has been a trend of more and more where everything has been to benefit the upper-class, wealthy folks, and everyday people have been lost by the Democratic Party,” she said. “I think democratic socialists see everyday folks in a way that the Democratic machine has not in a long time.”
But for Democratic voter Chet Andrzejczyk, an Easthampton resident, socialism is not the answer. He said Democrats need to focus their messaging on the everyday costs that affect people’s lives.
“Socialism has failed in every country it’s been established in. I do believe in a more centrist outlook in life,” he said. “It always comes down to the basics: food, gas, home heating oil.”
Andrzejczyk said he understands why some voters supported President Donald Trump in 2024 because they wanted the economy to improve, but believes the situation has not gotten better.
“I understand a lot of people voted for Trump for the economy,” he said. “I didn’t. I voted for Kamala [Harris], but a lot of people wanted the economy to get better, and under Biden, it wasn’t.”
He also criticized Democrats for what he sees as an inadequate response to Trump.
“I don’t see the Democrats doing much, but they should have done more to protest Trump and his group of enablers,” he said.
Nick Rivera, after shopping in Easthampton, said affordability, restrictions affecting immigrants and people of color, and LGBTQ rights are among the issues he cares most about.
“People should have their freedoms,” he said. “That’s what America is all about. I don’t think we should care about who’s sleeping with who and who wants to be a man or woman or all these things. Pretty basic.”
Judy Wayne, a Westhampton resident, said elected officials should take a more centrist approach, arguing that politicians who lean too strongly in either direction are less effective.
“I really do think that a centrist or more center-focused elected official is a lot more effective right now than someone that leans really strongly in either direction,” she said.
Although she does not view democratic socialism as inherently bad, Wayne said the country’s political stability has depended on finding common ground between the two parties.
“I also think that what has helped our country survive for so long is more either going back toward the middle or staying more in the middle, where each side gets something,” she said.
Asked which issues she cares most about, Wayne quickly offered one answer: public libraries.
“Libraries. Libraries. Libraries,” she said. “I am very passionate about public libraries. They are the best thing in the world.”
Don Nolan of Greenfield and Jarrod Thompson of Amherst met up for coffee at Tandem Bagel in South Hadley and took the time to unpack their views of the Democratic Party.
Nolan said he wants Democrats to more closely embrace the party’s progressive wing rather than continue trying to appeal to the political center.
“Stop being centrist or fake Republicans or Republican-lite,” he said. “That would be something I would like to see happen.”
Nolan said he believes many Americans support progressive policies but have been conditioned to associate terms such as socialism and communism with negative connotations.
He pointed to billionaire Elon Musk and his companies’ reliance on government support as an example of what he considers an imbalance in the use of taxpayer money. Nolan also raised concerns about the influence of wealthy individuals on international affairs, pointing to Musk’s control of the Starlink satellite network and its role in Ukraine.
Thompson, a former “Bernie-bro,”said universal healthcare is among his top priorities.
“Universal healthcare is always a big one for me,” Thompson said.
Thompson also expressed concern about the influence of corporations and wealthy individuals on government policy, arguing that tax dollars should be used more equitably.
Both men said they hope the country can return to a greater sense of political normalcy after several exhausting years. Thompson said the constant political conflict has made it difficult to escape the news cycle, while Nolan said he remembers feeling less anxious during the Biden administration.
“I did not wake up every morning and feel like I had to check the news for some psychotic thing that happened since I went to bed,” Nolan said.
Nolan described the feeling as a persistent, low-level anxiety, saying people never know what might happen next.
Thompson said he remains cautiously hopeful about Tuesday’s election, though he is uncertain what the outcome will bring. Nolan said he is hopeful as well but remains concerned about the closeness of many races.
For Chicopee resident and Easthampton hairdresser Kari Peralta, the No. 1 issue today is the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which she classified as a “genocide.” As a Christian, she is ashamed that the Republican Party has swept up so many voters of faith.
She is liberal on many issues, including abortion, and hopes to see the Democratic Party go in a more socialist direction.
“People are seeing it can work,” she said, pointing to Mamdani in New York.
For conservative voter Logan Pitchko, an 18-year-old Easthampton resident who grew up in Hatfield, affordability is the number one issue to tackle.
Pitchko, whose family has a history of tobacco farming, said the economics of farming have become increasingly difficult, with fuel costs cutting into what families actually take home.
Pitchko said he is also struggling with the cost of maintaining his vehicle. He recently received a $1,000 estimate for spark plugs and diagnostic work from a mechanic, a significant expense given his limited income.
State Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, D-Northampton, was recently in San Antonio, going door-to-door to campaign for Democratic candidates. The area had a lot of service members, and way more conservative-minded people than she is used to in Massachusetts.
Two consistent things people talked about, she said, was bolstering education and counteracting corruption in politics.
For Wimsatt, a successful path ahead means tapping into “majoritarianism.” The mantra has been “keeping the family together.”
The broader movement he envisions is a large umbrella, bringing together people with different political backgrounds and priorities — from New York City Mayor Mamdani to former Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola, who has received an A+ rating from the NRA.
The lesson, he said, is to embrace a broader coalition, including figures such as Dan Osborn in Nebraska and others who are part of the anti-authoritarian movement.
Every compelling political leader, Wimsatt said, responds to the particular moment in time. Barack Obama emerged amid anti-war sentiment. Bernie Sanders rose in the wake of Occupy Wall Street. Trump capitalized on the Tea Party movement.
Today’s message should be, “doing things that are going to make people’s lives better” — less money for corruption and more money in the pockets of everyday people, said Wimsatt.
Reporting from the Associated Press was used in this story
