The Left is At War w/Itself – Top 3 Takeaways – August 4th, 2026
Takeaway #1: The concern on the Left is real
Two weeks from today is Florida’s primary election day and while many folks in our state have been turning out to early vote – it's the votes that have already taken place in other states and the votes that will be cast today in multiple states – though mainly Michigan – that have establishment Democrats and their constituents with GSS News concerned. To date, the Graham Platner disaster in Maine’s senate race has been the biggest flashpoint on the political left. And even in that state the resolution on the Left, hasn’t proven to have actually have resolved the Left’s candidate quality problems. It was just over a week ago that the Democrat party selected the replacement for Platner – the Platner endorsed Democrat Socialist Troy Jackson, and right on cue we’ve now found out that the woman he had previously claimed as a wife, never was, and that he’s done far more with his cousin than just kiss her...he’s fathered two kids with one of his second cousins. The excuse we’re hearing about inbreeding from his defenders likely isn’t going to assuage those who may be concerned about his overall decision making... The excuse – that kind of thing used to be common in the rural Maine mountains. You know – that the numbers just aren’t there or some such thing. Though even that curious excuse doesn’t explain why he’s referred to her as his wife. And here’s the kicker...doing a little digging into what Troy Jackson’s cousin does for a living... She’s a clinical therapist who specificizes in domestic violence, grief, sexual abuse, trauma, PTSD and women’s issues generally. I think I could sum up the overall issues in Maine by saying that any socialist is likely to have above average levels of decision-making issues. As a result, the most vulnerable incumbent Republican in the Senate (she’s the only one that’s running in a state that Kamala Harris won) is better positioned for this cycle than she would otherwise be. But today the concern on the Left is greatest in Michigan. This is due to Republicans having an opportunity for a pickup, something that would otherwise seemingly be highly unlikely in a cycle like this, should the Islamic Democrat Socialist Abdul El-Sayed win the Democrat primary today over establishment pick Haley Stevens as he appears likely to do. Just how big is the concern on the Left?
Takeaway #2: It’s huge!
Consider these headlines from CNN yesterday: Democrats have a new problem as they try to win the Senate, Inside Schumer’s quiet effort to stop Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s Senate race, Ex-Obama staffers say debate over ‘platforming’ controversial voice hurts Democrats, Taking over the Democratic Party and bringing down capitalism: What the DSA discussed at their summit. The Democratic Party is asleep at the wheel: Democratic Socialists are mobilizing for their biggest moment yet. Again, those are only CNN headline stories posted yesterday! The fear on the Left is here, it’s huge and what happens tonight in Michigan could cement the end of the Democrat establishment having its way in this cycle and perhaps beyond. As we’ve discussed in my midterm election updates the historical headwinds for Republicans in this cycle are considerable, starting with this reality... Since the advent of the current two-party system (41 midterm elections), we've averaged the President's party losing 3 U.S. Senate seats and 28 seats in the House of Representatives in midterm election cycles and that there are only three times that the incumbent President's party has gained seats (1934 during FDR's first term, 1998 during Bill Clinton's second term, and 2002 during George W. Bush's first term) thus only 3 out of 41 midterm elections have resulted in the President's party netting additional congressional seats. Here's another way of looking at it... History suggests there's a 93% chance Democrats will gain Congressional seats this cycle. By the time you add in the unpopular Iran war and related elevated energy prices that have gone along with it – Democrats have about as favorable of a landscape as the party could hope to have heading into November. But what we’re seeing, at least by the concern that’s being expressed by the establishment left, is that
Takeaway #3: Candidate quality still matters in a significant way
And this is true. Even during the peak of the Tea Party movement in 2010 – Republicans failed to win key congressional seats – including potential senate wins due to a few candidate quality issues. But the bigger issue that Democrats face, unlike the GOP via the Tea Party in 2010 – is that yes there is a potentially personally flawed candidate like Troy Jackson in Maine – but the still bigger issue, are the issues – and specifically the DSA’s platform that’s increasingly the platform of Democrat candidates across the country. The ebb and flow of politics and political parities is never a static thing, and we’ve seen an evolution that’s played out on both sides over the past decade and a half. Following the 2008 election cycle, the battle between the GOP establishment and its base came to a head in the form of the Tea Party that created a tug-of-war effect with the Tea Party having their way in 2010, the establishment making a comeback in 2012 and the 2014 election proving to be a bit of a blend providing a time of transition until 2016 when Donald Trump came on the scene and remade the party his way. The Democrat Party has been going through a different version of a similar thing. In 2008 and 2009 the socialist undercurrent of the Occupy Wall Street movement and the rise of homosexual alphabeters was real but with Barack Obama as president – he was able to placate the radicals (of which he was one) and the establishment (whom he’d pretended to become) keep the Democrat Party mostly intact through his presidency. However, following his exit in 2016, the power void left behind on the left began to manifest itself with socialists knocking off establishment candidates in primaries starting in 2018 with the rise of AOC and The Squad. In 2020 it was seemingly the establishment that won out with the election of Joe Biden, but as we saw he was just a pawn for the continued radicalization of the party. And that takes us to where we are today with a power vacuum that’s massive on the Left. Who’s currently the leader of the Democrat Party? The highest ranking elected Democrat in the country is Chuck U Schumer and he’s not the future of anything. So, what comes next? Unless there’s a Trump-like figure on the Left this socialist turn could well turn out to be the future of the Democrat Party. And what plays out in Michigan could be the next significant step towards that eventuality. After all, my theme this year has been that this version of the Democrat Party is the most dangerous yet. And while that’s true – it's also the reason that with historical headwinds facing Republicans this year, in addition to an unpopular Iranian war...they still have a fighting chance as we’re now only three months away from November’s Election Day.