Democrat National Committee (DNC) vice chair David Hogg is planning to launch an aggressive campaign to challenge “ineffective, asleep-at-the-wheel” Democrat lawmakers.
Hogg — who became famous by capitalizing on the deaths of his classmates killed in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School — announced on April 15 that his political group, Leaders We Deserve, would be spending $20 million to oust “ineffective” Democrat incumbents and replace them with younger challengers. However, he did confirm in an interview with Politico that the group would not risk supporting primary challengers in battleground districts. He also noted that the primary challenges would not be targeted based on a politician’s age.
“We have a culture of seniority politics that has created a litmus test of who deserves to be here,” Hogg explained. “We need people, regardless of their age, that are here to fight.”
This is a shocking deviation from standard Democrat politics, as the DNC has traditionally avoided trying to primary sitting incumbents unless they seriously diverge from the left’s agenda. However, Hogg’s announcement comes as Democrats are currently suffering from abysmal approval ratings and struggling to come up with a clear alternative to the policies of President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, and have only been able to focus on complaining about the president.
During the Politico interview, Hogg acknowledged that his approach to the issue differs from people like DNC chair Ken Martin.
“There are disagreements in our party about the right way to approach this moment. There are certainly disagreements we have,” Hogg stated. “What I will say about Chair Martin, even if we do have disagreements, he’s doing an excellent job of building and reforming our party.”
The DNC chair has responded to Hogg’s comments in a statement, asserting that “in order to ensure we are as effective as possible at electing Democrats to office, it is the DNC’s longstanding position that primary voters — not the national party — determine their Democratic candidates for the general election.”
Martin also praised Hogg for being a “passionate advocate” and noted that he is grateful for Hogg’s service “whether it be in his role as a DNC Vice Chair or in an outside capacity.”
Hogg is the only DNC officer who has not signed a “neutrality policy” which commits them to staying out of primary races and avoiding any activity that would “call into question their impartiality and evenhandedness,” according to The New York Times. Hogg was elected as DNC vice chair on February 1, 2025, becoming the first Generation Z person to hold the role. Conservatives largely celebrated the decision, pointing out how unlikeable and radical Hogg was, and arguing that his election shows that Democrats have not learned their lesson from the 2024 election. Hogg has also already been embroiled in a corruption scandal, as he used the DNC contact list to send out messages soliciting charitable donations to his personal PAC:
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