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鈥淚 no longer believe in the Democratic Party,鈥� says Kylie Sparks, a Los Angeles鈥揵ased actor, writer, and organizer. Sparks volunteered for Barack Obama鈥檚 presidential campaign in 2012 and worked on Hillary Clinton鈥檚 influencer squad in 2016, drumming up support for the candidate via their personal social media accounts. 鈥淚 think the Democrats need to evolve or let the progressive wing take over because it鈥檚 clear that people want progressive politics.鈥�

The Democratic Party suffered major losses in the November 2024 election, which saw Donald Trump elected for a second term and the Republican Party win majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Since then, the party has seen its popularity as voters demand their Democratic representatives take more action against the Trump administration鈥檚 overreaches. Instead, much of the party leadership continues to .

Still, a new vision for the Democratic Party鈥檚 future, backed by organizers like Sparks, seems to be emerging from its progressive contingents. That vision could appeal to voters in the coming elections, after many have grown disillusioned with Democratic Party leadership in recent years.

While news headlines following Trump鈥檚 election win last year painted a grim picture for progressives, the popularity of progressive ballot measures in and Democratic-led states and the success of and local levels . For years, polling data has also shown that a majority of Americans, Democrats and Republicans alike, support progressive policies, such as , , and .

nationwide over the Trump administration鈥檚 agenda and Democrats鈥� unwillingness to act as a bulwark against its overreaches also points to a growing desire for alternatives to the old guard. A series of organized to protest the Trump administration鈥檚 actions drew an estimated in on April 5, 2025. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have also drawn tens of thousands on stops for their Fighting Oligarchy tour, which Sanders launched following Trump鈥檚 re-election. Many of those rallies have drawn larger crowds than any other event .

Rallying cries on the Fighting Oligarchy tour go beyond frustration with the Trump administration and include calls for progressive policies such as universal healthcare and wealth taxation. These more progressive ideas resonate with voters who were fed up with the Democratic Party even before Trump鈥檚 re-election because they felt Democratic leaders were not doing enough to protect abortion rights, , against communities of color, mitigate the effects of , or .

Sparks is among those who began losing faith in the party years ago. 鈥淥ne of the things that really radicalized me was the pandemic,鈥� they say. Sparks lives with chronic illness, and their mother is disabled, making COVID-19 a particular threat. When Joe Biden was inaugurated in January 2021, he promised to prioritize protecting Americans from the virus. Instead, Sparks found the government鈥檚 response insufficient. 鈥淭hey weren鈥檛 doing much, [and] a lot of my friends were forced to go back to work, and they got sick, and some of them have either passed or have lifelong disability issues because of it,鈥� Sparks says.

For Rebecca June Lane, a New York City鈥揵ased Democratic voter, Democratic leaders鈥� waffling on reproductive rights has been a disappointment for years. Lane says she began to follow politics more closely in the early 2010s, when in state legislatures were making headlines, and 鈥渢he Democratic Party at that time wasn鈥檛 even there.鈥� She welcomed Hillary Clinton鈥檚 commitment to protecting abortion rights when she ran for president in 2016. 鈥淚 respected Hillary a lot because she stood 10 toes down about late-term abortions and the medical necessity of those all the way through the debates,鈥� says Lane, who also worked as a video editor for Clinton鈥檚 campaign once she became the Democratic nominee.

Biden, on the other hand, offered only on the campaign trail in both 2020 and 2024, while disclosing that he personally . Lane was disappointed when he became the Democratic Party鈥檚 nominee for a second time last year. When Biden stepped down and Vice President Kamala Harris took his place, 鈥淭here was hope; there was some momentum,鈥� recalls Lane. 鈥淏ut that died as soon as it became clear that Kamala鈥檚 platform was Biden鈥檚 platform.鈥�

Many voters were also disappointed that to growing police forces nationwide and invested federal funds in militarized police training facilities, often called 鈥渃op cities,鈥� during his term, despite being elected on the tail of the 2020 nationwide protests sparked by the police murder of George Floyd. 

The Biden administration鈥檚 support for Israel鈥檚 genocide in Gaza, which began in October 2023, was also a deal-breaker for many. 鈥淎nybody with their right mind would not go back to the Democrats, because they have not shown any change,鈥� Farah Khan, co-chair of the campaign in Michigan and a former Democrat, told after Harris made clear she would continue Biden鈥檚 pro-Israel politics and refused to meaningfully engage with voters concerned about conditions in Gaza. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to have to work really, really hard to win their votes back.鈥�

Democratic voters who have grown tired of the status quo on these issues are finding hope in a growing wave of progressive grassroots candidates seeking election. 鈥溾�嬧�媁e have seen a huge surge in people raising their hands to say they want to run in just the last six months,鈥� says Amanda Litman, co-founder and president of , an organization that recruits and supports young progressive candidates running in down-ballot races.

Since Trump鈥檚 re-election, more than 40,000 people have signed up to attend one of Run for Something鈥檚 candidate calls to learn about running a campaign and the support the organization can provide. That鈥檚 more new sign-ups in about six months than what Run for Something saw in the first two years of Trump鈥檚 first term. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a sense of fury, rage, disappointment, and a little bit of hope鈥� among those who join the candidate calls, says Litman. 鈥淭hey are seeing other people step up to run and lead in this moment, and it鈥檚 inspiring them to do the same.鈥�

Some districts long-held by conventionalist Democrats are already running on more progressive platforms. No candidate is more famous than , the 24-year-old content creator turned politician who is running in Illinois鈥檚 9th Congressional District, where longtime unexpectedly on May 5 that she would not run for reelection. 鈥淒onald Trump and Elon Musk are dismantling our country piece by piece, and so many Democrats seem content to just sit back and let them,鈥� Abughazaleh said in a . 鈥淲hile current Democratic leadership might be fine cowering to Trump, I鈥檓 not.鈥�

, a 33-year-old New York state assembly member from Queens, is also making waves with his campaign for mayor in New York City. Mamdani is running as a socialist on a platform that promises to make the city more affordable for working people. It鈥檚 a significant change of pace in a race typically dominated by real estate and finance money and won by party insiders鈥攁nd . 

of political change in the U.S. for years. Now, Litman says they are stepping up to lead progressive efforts in record numbers after many in the most recent election. 鈥淭he thing that really makes this moment different is that there is so much interest in not waiting to be given permission,鈥� she says. 鈥淎 really common theme we have heard from folks on our candidate calls is that they are done waiting for someone else to do the work for them.鈥� Run for Something expects to work with about 300 candidates this year and at least double that in 2026 when midterm elections are held. 

Young people are also shaking up the Democratic National Convention (DNC), with David Hogg, a 25-year-old political organizer and survivor of the 2018 Parkland high school shooting, winning a bid to become DNC Vice Chair in February 2025. Hogg also founded Leaders We Deserve, a grassroots political organization that helps elect young progressives to Congress and state houses nationwide. The organization has more than a dozen Democratic incumbents in the 2026 midterms, which has drawn both and who think Hogg鈥檚 agenda does not go far enough

Besides welcoming a new wave of progressive challengers in elections at every level, disillusioned Democratic voters are also getting involved in other political arenas, such as and mutual aid efforts. 鈥淚 think for progressive politics to really win, we have to start local,鈥� says Sparks, who organizes with the American actors鈥� union SAG-AFTRA and volunteered on Nithya Raman and Gina Viola鈥檚 campaigns for local government in Los Angeles in 2020 and 2022, respectively.

Lane, the New Yorker, says she hopes the despair and frustration that many left-leaning Americans are experiencing now will lead them to think big. 鈥淚 truly believe that we should not be hampered by the restrictions of where we are right now, but we need to take bold steps,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 see this on the other side in terms of marching toward fascism, and I want that boldness on the left to march away from fascism.鈥�