Has the Democratic Tea Party Arrived?
A new primary to watch.
A political party’s voters, fed up with losses recorded by the party’s more moderate, establishment candidates, febel against the party’s leaders, pressuring them to do things like stop compromising and shut down the government, while promoting candidates who fire up the base but falter in general elections.
I’m obviously describing the Tea Party, the political movement that gripped the Republican Party in the early half of the 2010s before being subsumed by Trumpism in the latter half of the decade.
Is it now the Democratic Party’s turn in the barrel?
Many of the key characteristics are there. Polling shows Democrats souring on their party’s leadership, much as Republicans did a decade ago. Pew Research Center, for example, found that 67% of Democrats say their own party makes them frustrated, a 19-point uptick from four years ago; only 29% of Democrats say their party makes them proud, a 15-point decrease from four years ago.
Then, there’s the desire for the party to “fight” rather than compromise, as epitomized by the forcing of a government shutdown. Check.
There’s even been some equivalent of the grassroots Tea Party protests in the “No Kings” protests, down to the use of costumes (even if frog suits have replaced revolutionary-era garb).
But the key question, heading into 2026, is whether Democratic dissatisfaction towards the Democratic Party plays the same electoral role in primary contests as the Tea Party did for Republicans. Although 2010 was a successful year for Republicans, just as 2026 is likely to be for Democrats — Tea Party or not — there is no question that the right-wing movement hurt, instead of helped, the GOP in many general election campaigns.
In fact, there are at least three 2010 Senate campaigns that were seen as winnable for Republicans, until Tea Party candidates (Christine O’Donnell in Delaware, Sharron Angle in Nevada, and Ken Buck in Colorado) beat more establishment alternatives in GOP primaries and went on to lose the general elections. Republicans won the House in 2010, but failed to take the Senate; flipping those three seats would have resulted in a 50-50 chamber.
In 2026, the marquee test for Democratic Tea Partyism will probably be the Maine Senate race, where outsider oyster farmer Graham Platner is taking on the establishment favorite (Gov. Janet Mills) to run against Republican Sen. Susan Collins. As with many of the Republican Tea Party candidates, Platner fires up the base — the few primary polls conducted so far show him ahead of Mills — but poses risks for the general election, from his controversial Reddit comments to his tattoo of a Nazi symbol. (Platner says he was unaware, until recently, of the symbol’s significance.)
The next primary to test whether Democrats are having a Tea Party moment may be kicking off today, with Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) expected to launch a Senate bid according to the Dallas Morning News.
Crockett, a well-known progressive brawler (remember “bleach blonde bad built butch body”-gate?), joins a primary field that already offers another Democrat party leaders are more comfortable with: state Rep. James Talarico, the rare candidate to win praise from both Barack Obama and Joe Rogan. Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, coming off of losing campaigns for Senate in 2018, president in 2020, and governor in 2022, may run as well. (Former Rep. Collin Allred had previously been running in the Senate primary, but announced this morning that he would switch to running for a House seat.)
According to early polling, Crockett would potentially have the upper hand in a primary against Talarico, and O’Rourke — but would come with vulnerabilities for a general election. No Democrat has won a statewide election in Texas since 1994; succeeding there would likely allow for no margin for error, and require outreach to Republican-leaning voters in a state Donald Trump won last year by 14 points.
Crockett, however, is best known for jousting with Republicans, not winning them over; some of her most viral moments could backfire in a general electorate, including her comment earlier this year referring to Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) as “Governor Hot Wheels.” Abbott has used a wheelchair since he was paralyzed from the waist down after a tree fell on him in 1984.
Ironically, the lingering effects of the Tea Party on the Republican Party could give Democrats their best chance in Texas in recent memory: incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) faces primary challenges from state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt. Paxton, in particular, would create an opening for Democrats: he was indicted for securities fraud in 2015 and impeached by Republicans in the state House in 2020, and is also currently undergoing a divorce in which his wife is accusing him of having an affair.
But it’s not clear a Crockett nomination would put Democrats’ best foot forward, even against Paxton: a recent Change Research poll found that the progressive congresswoman had the highest name ID of the potential Democratic candidates among the Texas electorate — but also the highest unfavorability rating. 49% of Texas voters said they would “definitely” not vote for Crockett in November 2026, compared to 40% who said that about Talarico.
If Democrats were to nominate candidates like Crockett and Platner, it would represent a turnaround from the party’s recent strategy of emphasizing electability in primary contests, seeking to elevate the candidate who would fare the best in a general election. Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential primary win, over several more progressive alternatives, is probably the best example.
But many Democrats aren’t thrilled with how the Biden story ended — or with the last several years of party offerings. They might be ready to try another strategy.
Related read: If the media star of the Tea Party movement was Rush Limbaugh, the equivalent for Democrats might be … a reality star mom from Oklahoma? The New York Times this weekend profiled Jennifer Welch, who has used her perch as host of the “I’ve Had It” podcast to push Democrats in a more pugnacious direction. Here’s a gift link.
One striking thing about the Welch piece, and the Democratic Tea Party more broadly, is how detached from ideology it seems to be. The piece mentions one area where Welch feels establishment Democrats should move to the left on (dropping support for Israel) and another that she is trying to stop them from moving right on (transgender issues), but other than that, is more focused on taking the fight to Trump than any specific ideological crusade, progressive or otherwise. This is one major difference between the OG Tea Party, which sought to move the GOP to the right on taxes, spending, immigration, and other issues, and the potential Democratic parallel.