If you have been following politics over the past few years, you may have heard the phrase “Vote blue no matter who.” It is often used to encourage Democratic voters to vote for Democratic candidates no matter if they align with the voter’s view or not, so long as they block Republicans from taking power.
The reasoning behind this is understandable, especially when it comes to the national elections. Progressives and Democrats alike do not want President Donald Trump in power, and Democrats are the most viable political option to beat him.
However, this attitude is very unhelpful for the party and progressives as a whole, especially long-term. Voting for someone simply because they are a less harmful option than their opponent enables corrupt Democrats to stay in office and allows tangible change to stagnate.
We can see this on a local level in New York’s 3rd Congressional District. Representing that district is Democrat Tom Suozzi. He is a moderate who has been involved in New York politics since becoming the mayor of Glen Cove in 1993.
Underneath the surface, we see Suozzi’s severe shortcomings as a transparent politician. Last year, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust filed a complaint against him for disclosing multiple United States treasury bill purchases a year late. He also has a history of failing to disclose many stock market purchases during his time in office. In January of this year, Suozzi voted to fund the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a decision that faced major backlash from his constituents.
This is the kind of politician who benefits from the “vote blue” rhetoric. Is he who liberals and progressives of Nassau County want representing them? Is this someone that will push for real change in Congress?
At the national stage, this rhetoric propping up establishment Democrats is arguably a major reason why former Vice President Kamala Harris lost the 2024 presidential election. After former President Joe Biden dropped out and Harris was nominated, there was initially energy behind her nomination.
As her campaign went on, however, she drifted towards the center and failed to address many of the issues that her voter base wanted her to address. She shut down pro-Palestinian members of the base who wanted her to support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and to cut off funding to Israel. Her campaign largely supported deportations and ran on a “secure border,” much like Trump’s campaign. As the election neared, instead of meeting with progressives, Harris campaigned with Republican Liz Cheney in Pennsylvania.
Instead of appealing to her primary base, Harris’ campaign opted to appeal to center-right voters. This once again left the progressive voter disillusioned and uninspired. Voters clearly wanted a change from the status quo and Biden’s policy; Harris’ campaign represented a stay with it.
Not settling for an establishment Democrat can work. The 2025 New York City mayoral election is a great example of this. The rise of current Mayor Zohran Mamdani showed the country that a candidate can win a major election running on progressive, democratic socialist policy.
Instead of shutting down pro-Palestinians in the base, he pledged to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he came to New York, following the arrest warrant that the International Criminal Court issued for him. He ran on progressive policy, such as universal childcare and taxing the wealthiest 1%. His policy attracted 1.1 million New Yorkers to elect him as mayor, a historic turnout.
Instead of shifting center for the sake of mass appeal, Mamdani stood on what he began his campaign with. This campaign shows the direction Democrats must go in if they want people to be excited about them.
If you claim your party to be a left-leaning one, put actual left-leaning candidates out there. Voters want a change of pace from the status quo of establishment Democrats, and now they have been shown an alternative by Mamdani’s win. If you are a progressive voter, you should not feel obligated to “Vote blue no matter who.” The Democratic Party should not trot out another mediocre candidate to oppose the Republicans in 2028 and expect progressive support. Democratic voters must pressure them to nominate someone who actually reflects progressive policy.
