Fight for what it can be

Democratic Party strategy

El-Sayed says he is running to make the Democratic Party better rather than walk away from it: a party that names corporate power plainly, wins people over by persuasion, and moves power from its elders to the voters underneath it.

I think the party could be better, and I'm running to make it better. So, I'm a Democrat with a lowercase D. And I hope someday we can win the fight for what the Democratic Party can be. And I'm not willing to let go of all that infrastructure because a few folks who can't let go of power say that it's theirs.

WHAT HE HAS SAID

  • Calls himself a Democrat with a lowercase D. Says the party could be better, and that he is running to make it better rather than walk away from it.
  • Argues that movements should organize around the outcome they want rather than break apart over the critique.
  • Wants the party to tell a coherent story that names corporate power: jobs offshored or automated, health care squeezed, housing speculated on. Says refusing corporate money is what leaves a party free to tell it.
  • Sees an opportunity for the party to “molt”: power moving from the party elders who hold it to the voters and organizers underneath them.
  • Wants Democrats to win people over by making the argument, instead of polling to find where voters already are and repeating it back.
  • Would use every institutional tool available to stop harmful actions rather than normalize them.

Primary sources

Last reviewed 2026-08-19.