Since the founding of the Democratic Party in 1828, they’ve never truly had a founding principle that all members can rally behind. They began as the advocate of the “common man”, fighting against the aristocracy. More importantly, Democrats were established to support Andrew Jackson’s populist presidential campaign. After Jackson’s death, the party split. Northern and Southern Democrats were very different, often never agreeing on the same issues. Northern Democrats favored freeing enslaved people, while Southern Democrats staunchly supported it. Later, Southern Democrats were staunchly socially conservative and opposed civil rights, whereas Northern Democrats became more liberal, shaping the modern-day Democrat.
All this is to say, Democrats have never been truly united. Different factions still rival each other today. Progressive Democrats such as Bernie Sanders advocate for the expansion of socialist ideals in our government, while John Fetterman of Pennsylvania has angered the progressive wing several times. His stances on strong support for Israel and border security have shifted him more towards the right, separating him from his own party.
With almost 200 years in the running, Democrats have become wildly unpopular. The Wall Street Journal in July of 2025 found that 63 percent of voters don’t support the Democratic Party, which is a historic low for Democrats. However, only one thing has managed to hold Democrats together over the past 10 years. Donald Trump.
Since Harris’ defeat in 2024, Democrats have shifted their views to ensuring Trump is taken out of office and to oppose him at all costs. We’ve seen this same approach form in the Republican Party in 2009, after Obama’s victory.
In 2010, Mitch McConnell stated that his top political priority was ensuring Barack Obama was a “one-term president”. This strategy actually did tank Obama’s approval rating, especially after Republicans held the debt ceiling hostage by conditioning debt limit increases on significant spending cuts in 2011. This strategy worked until 2015, when the election became a very stressful conversation. Trump united Republicans, and since 2016 has reshaped the Republican party, uniting them and strengthening their chances at victory in future elections.
When Trump’s term is through, the Democrats will no longer have a rallying cry to push forward, and could very well fall back into their old habits of fighting amongst themselves, letting Republicans take action against them. If Democrats wish to continue to fight and ensure they have a fighting chance, they need to untie the party, much as Trump did.
