I am a centrist Democrat and I am terrified of success | Opinion
Hello, I am a centrist Democrat who is terrified that progressive liberal candidates keep winning primary elections.
I am also terrified of my own shadow, but this is somehow worse.
Suddenly, voters are being won over by liberal candidates ‒ even a few who are democratic socialists! ‒ who aren't afraid to lean into populist messages with passion and an apparent drive to actually do things that will make people's lives better. What is that all about? Since when did the things voters want become so important?
Following the embrace of New York City's popular democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani, two democratic socialist candidates and one progressive candidate won their recent congressional primary races. I immediately took to my living room's fainting couch. (Like most centrist Democrats, I have a fainting couch in every room.)
Like my good friends in the Republican Party, I fear any kind of democratic socialist as well as any progressives who are actually progressive. They all seem far too fixated on helping "the people." Blech.
As a centrist Democrat, I cannot accept new ideas. Or winning.
I recently read this in The Nation, a progressive magazine I can only read while on a fainting couch: "In Michigan's open Senate race, Chuck Schumer has made his support of moderate Representative Hayley Stevens clear. But that hasn't stopped Abdul El-Sayed from climbing in the polls. Running on a platform of taxing billionaires, ending the corrosive effects of money in politics, and Medicare for All."
It said El-Sayed has been endorsed not only by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Ro Khanna of California but also the "influential United Auto Workers union."
AUGH! What kind of radical Democrat would talk about taxing billionaires in a moment when income inequality is at the top of voters' minds and people are struggling to afford food?
That's edging too far away from the center, which is the safe place where I reside and insist all other Democrats must reside. It's nice here. There are comfy pillows a corporate lobbyist once gave me, and we just sit and occasionally furrow our brows.
Mamdani-backed progressives keep winning and I feel frightened
These new candidates don't understand the crucial role centrist Democrats play in America's political system. We appeal to "the center," which is an ambiguous blob-like thing that exists only in the minds of Democratic strategists whose brains stopped working in the 1990s.
It is our job to become mildly perturbed when Republicans do something we oppose and then later smile and shake hands with those same Republicans while we all drink expensive whiskey and talk about the money we're getting from corporate donors.
Sometimes we do things that moderately improve the lives of our constituents, but we don't do that too much because it would be rude to our Republican colleagues if we pushed things too far. We are polite. We like to place ourselves right in the middle of the road so it's easy for others to run us over. That's called "comity."
Democratic socialists and progressives are talking about zany things like affordable housing and making the rich pay more in taxes and doing away with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which most Americans view as an out-of-control agency.
If the Democratic Party starts allowing that kind of popular thinking into its ranks, it might be off-putting to the seven remaining centrist voters I rely on to justify my existence.
But what if Republicans use progressive candidates to fearmonger?
Also, these progressive types are going to open the door for Republicans to label Democrats as radicals and fearmongers. Isn't that what Republicans have always done anyway and undoubtedly what they will do no matter which Democrats are running for office?
Yes, but that doesn't mean I can't be frightened about it and cover my ears and shout "NEENER NEENER NEENER!" every time I see a more progressive, energetic candidate who makes people feel excited about voting.
As an avowed centrist, I don't want Democrats to feel excited about voting for me. I want them to vote for me because I'm an almost imperceptible amount left of center, I'm safe and a vote for me is marginally better than voting for a Republican or staying home. Passion and effectiveness have no place in politics.
You can see how things have worked out for the Democratic Party with people like me setting the tone. We have centrist-ly given our GOP friends a chance to control the U.S. Supreme Court, along with both houses of Congress and the presidency.
And we have twice let ourselves get beaten by an unqualified narcissist who bankrupted casinos, giving Donald Trump two terms in the White House. Oh, how my Republican friends and I laugh about that! Isn't life strange?
The Democratic centrist must remain timid and accommodating
That's enough frivolity. Things are serious here in the Democratic center, though it is largely empty, and the space has shrank considerably. In fact, it's just me and a guy who's still worried Obamacare might have gone too far. I don't like him because he's better at quivering than I am.
I hope all Democrats heed these warnings from my fellow centrists and me. Don't be tricked into thinking one liberal party, in a vast country, can have a range of liberal thoughts. And don't look at progressive Democratic candidates who are exciting the base and promoting ideas that in this day and age are mainstream and think, "Maybe we should admit they're onto something."
No, the safe place is right here in the middle. We mustn't have strong policy plans or a belief that things can be changed for the better. Just sit here with me and be comfortable.
You see that Republican truck speeding toward us, the one that has run us over time and time again? Isn't that fun to look at?
Who knows. Maybe if we stay still and do nothing, this will be the time it finally misses us.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @rexhuppke.bsky.social and on Facebook at facebook.com/RexIsAJerk.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: I am a centrist Democrat and I am terrified of success | Opinion
Reporting by Rex Huppke, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect
This story was originally published June 28, 2026 at 5:08 AM.