The Real Lesson from New York and Colorado's Democratic Primaries: Voters Are Tired of a Rigged System
An op-ed from End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller
The debate inside the Democratic Party after the recent New York and Colorado primaries quickly settled into its familiar grooves: the left is surging, the center is retreating, socialism versus capitalism, electability versus purity. But when you look not just at safe blue districts but at competitive primaries across the country, a different pattern emerges. What voters are rewarding isn’t only about ideology. It’s about taking on a political system they believe is rigged.
The political establishment is increasingly losing to candidates who run explicitly against political corruption, dark money, and a system set up for insiders. That message is proving effective whether it comes from a democratic socialist in Denver or Harlem or a firefighters’ union chief in the Lehigh Valley.
Even as a trio of Mayor Zohran Mamdani-backed candidates impressively swept safe blue districts in New York City, moderate Cait Conley won the Democratic nomination in a battleground district just 25 minutes away. She now faces GOP Rep. Mike Lawler in one of the nation’s most consequential House races. Different candidates. Different districts. Different ideologies. Yet the underlying appeal was remarkably similar: I’m not owned by the system that failed you.
Colorado told the same story twice last week. In a safe blue district in Denver, 29-year-old democratic socialist Melat Kiros unseated 30-year incumbent Diana DeGette by running explicitly to “root out the corruption in government once and for all.” Kiros was powered by small donors while DeGette raised roughly 63% of her money from political action committees. Voters noticed the difference. Meanwhile, in Colorado’s 8th District — one of the most competitive congressional seats in the country — State Rep. Manny Rutinel won his primary by nearly 27 points on an almost identical platform: no corporate PAC money and a ban on congressional stock trading.
Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley offered another example. In a district Trump won by 3 points in 2024. Bob Brooks, a retired firefighter and union chief, united endorsements from Senator Bernie Sanders and Governor Josh Shapiro while arguing: “Our politics are being bought and paid for, and we have to stop that. Because as long as big money is allowed to play, it makes it very hard for the little guy.” He won by 21 points. Every serious candidate in that race ran on a similar message. In the most competitive district in Pennsylvania, the Democratic primary became a debate over who could most credibly take on corruption, not whether it should be a priority.
In Virginia, prosecutor Shannon Taylor is running to flip a Republican-held seat on an agenda framed as “putting Washington on trial.” In Illinois, Juliana Stratton won an upset Senate primary by refusing corporate PAC money and drawing a sharp contrast with her better-funded opponent. In Nebraska, independent Dan Osborn, and in Montana, independent Seth Bodnar, both launched Senate bids centered on the same anti-corruption argument.
This isn’t a coincidence. It’s a strategy.
More than 250 federal candidates are running under End Citizens United’s Unrig Washington program, committing to banning congressional stock trading, refusing corporate PAC money, and cracking down on dark money. When Democrats and Democratic-aligned independents are making the same core argument from Brooklyn to Denver to Billings, it’s impossible to dismiss it as a faction. It’s becoming a movement.
We’ve seen this before. In 2018, Democrats flipped 40 House seats — their largest gain since 1974 — with an ideologically diverse coalition united not by a single policy platform but by a common critique of a rigged political system that is only serving insiders.
Voters keep telling us what they want. They want candidates who aren’t for sale and who will actually do something to fix a broken Washington, regardless of who is in charge. The Democratic candidates embracing that message are winning, no matter where they sit ideologically.
Finally! A coherent message coming from the Left. Let's have anti-corruption, END Citizen's United be our rallying cry.
I was so upset when Graham Platner was ousted from running for Maine. I thought he seemed like the real deal: a working class, educated, articulate individual who has served our country not to enrich himself but because he believes it is the right thing to do. Yes, I am a woman, and I have three daughters, all of whom have experienced sexual harassment from men. But I was willing to overlook his faults (we have a rapist criminal as our president and a beer-guzzling, frat boy, rape culture freak sitting on the Supreme Court, after all) before I understood that Platner had been "picked" or "pushed forward" to run by the Democratic Party Elites. Chuck Schumer and your old-school co-horts, please step aside and let new ideas prevail. We need to get behind a message. The people are hungry to run our country on OUR terms, not lining the pockets of career politicians. Political office needs to be time-limited (Supreme Court MUST have term limits) and be understood AS A PUBLIC SERVICE.
I am a community college teacher and several of my students (and remember that most community college students represent ordinary, grass roots Americans) have independently asked to research Social Democracy and what it would mean for our country to adopt systems more aligned with better protections for the people (universal healthcare, social security, a smaller military budget, companies held as cooperatives, employee owned, etc.). They are coming to this question on their own. They are interested. They see their parents struggling; they are struggling with uncertainty, they can't make decisions about their futures as they don't have the basic level of security needed to do so.
And we need to examine and articulate these terms (Democracy News, please help with this). I believe it is Social Democracy we are after, not Democratic Socialism, we can hash this out as needed, but the public wants to know what this path could be (thank you for getting the conversation started, Zohran Mamdani), and once we understand it, we can pursue it as a nation and end the era of big money in politics.
Sorry for the cut/paste definitions, but it is important that we are clear what we're after:
Social Democracy View of Capitalism: Accepts capitalism as the primary economic engine but believes it must be tamed by state intervention to prevent extreme inequality. Economic System: Operates a mixed market economy where businesses are privately owned, but the government heavily regulates industries and provides universal public services (e.g., healthcare, education, and pensions).Primary Goal: To manage capitalism in the public interest, creating a strong social safety net so all citizens can thrive. Real-World Examples: Nordic countries like Sweden, Denmark, and Norway are widely cited as prime examples of social democracy.
Democratic Socialism View of Capitalism: Considers capitalism inherently exploitative and undemocratic, believing that wealth and power should not be concentrated in the hands of private elites. Economic System: Prescribes an economic model where major industries, utilities, and natural resources are brought under public, cooperative, or worker ownership. Primary Goal: To transition entirely away from a profit-driven capitalist system toward one driven by human need, equality, and workplace democracy. Political Strategy: Operates within a multi-party democratic framework rather than through authoritarian central planning. Organizations like the Democratic Socialists of America in the U.S. advocate for these systemic shifts.
AMERICA is a beautiful, amazing land of hope and freedom! It is so worth saving for all the people in the world. We have to fight for our dreams and the dreams of people all over the world.
I am a Democratic voter, but I think all primaries should be open to everyone.