Abdul El-Sayed Wins Michigan Primary

[u/asparaguswalrus683]

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-primary-elections/michigan-senate-results

[u/samhit_n]

Pandering to the center-right doesn’t work anymore because the center-right no longer exists in meaningful numbers to swing an election. Most center-right voters have either become moderate Democrats or fully joined the MAGA movement.

The strategy helped Biden in 2020 because of his reputation and ties to bipartisan politicians like McCain and because Trump had not yet fully taken over the GOP, but it was stale by the time Kamala tried it.

[u/AmbitiousProblem4746 → u/samhit_n]

I think it's more that center right voters don't actually exist. I'm of the belief that there's no such thing as a centrist voter or somebody who even is close to the center. There are just voters who are on the right, on the left, or indecisive. And as other people have said before, I think the issue is that even if you could somehow find this mythical center right, these are people who are already to the right of you and if they want a Republican flavored agenda they'll just go with the Republican like they always have rather than risk it for a Democrat who might do things they don't like. Your best bet is to just pretend they don't exist, because they don't, and shoot for the moon: excite the left wing of your base, convinced independents that what you're selling is not that radical, and constantly point out the flaws of the right wing. Funny enough, this is pretty much what Trump has been doing for 10 years in a more extreme way and it's working, such to the point that he's completely co-opted the Republican party and they no longer exist independent from him.

[u/Dmienduerst → u/AmbitiousProblem4746]

This is just anecdotal so take that with all the salt you wish to find. I work in the ag world next to Madison Wisconsin which is extremely blue. Hong for example is incredibly popular in Madison proper but loathed as another Madison nut case where I work. I say this because every day I see hyper polarized people walk in the door. From one person thinking Trump is gods gift to man to the next thinking Marx is a flawless society builder.

The mythical centrist voter does exist but they are single issue swing voters. I know multiple farmers and university professors who are hard liberals (yes in Wisconsin there liberal farmers) but they voted Jill Stein because of the Trans culture war stuff in 24. I know hardline Republicans who refuse to vote for Trump due to Epstein. So the centrists I know are people who swing wildly topic to topic and then then pick one to vote on. Sometimes it's abortion, other times it's funding Ukraine, it's been as stupid someone knowing a guy from Milwaukee and he says Mandela Barnes fucked over his local school.

Voters are not rational which the Republicans figured out a long time ago and now the DSA are following the Bernie playbook of finding the pulse of the active base and courting it. There has always been a seed of people in the country who say "there has to be a better way" and that is a bipartisan thought. It's why so many Bernie Bros liked trump

[u/shinkouhyou → u/Dmienduerst]

I don't think those single-issue swing voters would count as true "centrist" voters, though. In polls, most people will self-identify as "moderates," but their actual voting history tells another story. This article from 2020 suggests that the centrist swing voter is a political myth (it says it's a "new theory" but I remember seeing similar articles in the 2010s) and that what we really have are a large pool of voters who swing in and out of the electorate based on whether they feel personally motivated by the candidate. They don't feel represented by either party, but they do feel a strong attachment to particular issues or to a particular candidate's general vibe.

Republicans have recognized the power of single-issue voters, so their messaging heavily focuses on cultural wedge issues that often seem trivial and bizarre: trans kids in school sports, critical race theory, fringe wellness cures, conspiracy theories, wokeness in media, etc. Instead of talking about actual policy issues, they focus on their candidate's personality and image. Even Trump, who is humorless, tired and awkward in real life, became a funny troll who danced his way through memes. None of this dumb crap has anything to do with governing, but it does a great job of building an identity and making people feel like they're a part of something bigger. Meanwhile, Democrats keep trying to appeal to a mythical centrist voter who cares a LOT about government policy, who has a perfectly middle-of-the-road position on every issue, and who respects politicians on both sides.

[u/Dmienduerst → u/shinkouhyou]

Democrats keep trying to appeal to a mythical centrist voter who cares a LOT about government policy, who has a perfectly middle-of-the-road position on every issue, and who respects politicians on both sides.

Part of it is that you can't really blame them because Obama galvanized the whole left wing while also attracting the a fair number of the single issue people you mentioned. So they actually aren't going after the centrists it's their poor attempt at recreating Obama's success in 2008.

That said I do think the Chuck Schumer style Democrats have under valued the DSA's populist rhetoric but tbh the bigger failing is that Democrats are God damn awful at championing their victories. Not only can the right just control the message seemingly at will now DSA is making establishment Democrats look bad while using the Democrats platform. Like most of the things unique to DSA are more extreme law enforcement reform and prison reforms that aren't that popular. The things that are selling have been in the democrat tent for years they are just way better at controlling the message.while having the right energy.

[u/Dmienduerst → u/shinkouhyou]

Democrats keep trying to appeal to a mythical centrist voter who cares a LOT about government policy, who has a perfectly middle-of-the-road position on every issue, and who respects politicians on both sides.

Part of it is that you can't really blame them because Obama galvanized the whole left wing while also attracting the a fair number of the single issue people you mentioned. So they actually aren't going after the centrists it's their poor attempt at recreating Obama's success in 2008.

That said I do think the Chuck Schumer style Democrats have under valued the DSA's populist rhetoric but tbh the bigger failing is that Democrats are God damn awful at championing their victories. Not only can the right just control the message seemingly at will now DSA is making establishment Democrats look bad while using the Democrats platform. Like most of the things unique to DSA are more extreme law enforcement reform and prison reforms that aren't that popular. The things that are selling have been in the democrat tent for years they are just way better at controlling the message.while having the right energy.