FOR INSIDERS: Democrats come under attack from within: ‘Horrible time to be an incumbent’

The Democratic establishment is coming under renewed attack from progressive candidates and voters who are expressing deep unhappiness with the current party leadership. 

It’s a “throw the bums out” mentality that first surfaced toward the end of the Biden presidency, as Democrats expressed anger that former President Biden’s condition had been hidden from them after his disastrous debate performance against President Trump.

It reemerged in the spring of 2025, when grassroots Democrats were angered by congressional leaders in the minority who they felt were not doing enough to stand up to Trump. 

And it is now coming to a full boil in a series of Democratic primaries, most recently Tuesday in Colorado, where Melat Kiros, a democratic socialist, defeated Rep. Diana DeGette, the longtime congresswoman.

The Kiros win came on the heels of the New York primary last week, when two sitting lawmakers lost their battles against insurgent, left-leaning rivals. 

“It’s a horrible time to be an incumbent, and I think that may be the case for a while,” said Democratic strategist Steve Schale. “If you’re a voter and your choice is a Congress that is not really working and voting for someone different, you’re going to vote for someone different.”

The establishment, Schale said, “created a lot of its own problems, defended a Congress that was dysfunctional and didn’t know when to call it a day and go home.” 

Colorado’s Democratic gubernatorial primary on Tuesday also saw Sen. Michael Bennet lose to state Attorney General Phil Weiser in a stunning upset. In that campaign,........

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