The Democratic Party's Civil War

Episode of Pod Save America · July 19, 2026 · 1 h 6 min

Dan Pfeiffer and Run for Something's Amanda Litman discuss Graham Platner's Maine collapse, DSA's rise, the Michigan Senate primary, AIPAC spending, and down-ballot recruitment.

Summary

Dan Pfeiffer hosted Amanda Litman, co-founder and president of Run for Something, to discuss the state of the Democratic Party ahead of the 2026 midterms. They began with Graham Platner's withdrawal from the Maine Senate race. Litman criticized the activists who recruited Platner for trying to 'play Kingmaker' with a casting-call approach, and described Run for Something's vetting process, which relies heavily on candidates' honest self-disclosure. Pfeiffer argued that while vetting failed, the decisive failure was Platner's unwillingness to be candid. Both expressed cautious optimism about the Maine Democratic Party's replacement process and the chances of defeating Susan Collins, while Litman argued Janet Mills's candidacy showed the establishment also got it wrong.

The conversation turned to the rise of democratic socialism in New York City, Colorado and elsewhere. Litman attributed it to voters, especially young people, hungry for solutions and to DSA's organizing capacity, and said Run for Something has seen roughly 100,000 sign-ups in 18 months, many citing frustration with the Democratic Party. Pfeiffer cited polling showing growing Democratic favorability toward socialism, highest among 30-to-44-year-olds, and argued DSA had become a proxy target for centrists.

On the Michigan Senate primary between Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed, Litman called it a preview of the 2028 primary and said the establishment had lost credibility on electability. Pfeiffer pressed Stevens's supporters to say what they meant by electability concerns, suggesting some of it was subtext about El-Sayed's name. Litman called much of the criticism of Stevens sexist. Both discussed AIPAC's heavy spending for Stevens and shifting Democratic views on Israel and Gaza, including a House vote in which many Democrats opposed aid to Israel.

The episode closed with Run for Something's record, candidates Litman is excited about this cycle, and a funding gap Litman described between her roughly $8 million budget and the Republican Leadership Institute's $50 million. Pfeiffer lamented donors' preference for short-term TV ad spending over long-term infrastructure.

Chapters

0:21
Introduction
Pfeiffer introduces Amanda Litman and the episode's topics.
1:37
How Graham Platner was recruited
Litman criticizes the casting-call approach activists used to recruit Platner for the Maine Senate race.
7:08
The vetting failure
The two discuss what vetting should have found and argue Platner's lack of honesty was the core failure.
12:10
Maine after Platner
They assess the Maine Democratic Party's replacement process and prospects against Susan Collins.
18:36
Outsiders versus the establishment
They reject the lesson that Platner's collapse means Democrats should favor traditional candidates.
24:47
The rise of democratic socialism
They discuss DSA primary wins, polling on socialism, and fears about the Democratic brand.
38:28
The Michigan Senate primary
They debate electability, sexism and the Stevens versus El-Sayed race.
46:30
AIPAC and Israel
They discuss AIPAC's spending in Michigan and shifting Democratic votes on aid to Israel.
54:09
Run for Something's record and candidates
Litman describes surging sign-ups, win rates and down-ballot candidates she is excited about.
59:22
Funding down-ballot infrastructure
Litman and Pfeiffer lament that donors underfund long-term recruitment compared with TV ads.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Amanda Litman
Litman argues Platner's recruiters erred by trying to manufacture a candidate to fit a preset profile.
“What they did wrong is you cannot play Kingmaker and you really cannot play Mad Libs with candidate recruitment”
Listen from 3:04 · Candidate recruitment and vetting
Linked moment · 4:28Skip to 4:28 using a listen link in the info box.
Amanda Litman
Litman argues that people should not be persuaded to run for office but should be helped once they choose to.
“We should not convince people to run. We should open the door to them. And then if they say yes, help them walk through it”
Listen from 4:28 · Candidate recruitment and vetting
Amanda Litman
Litman says Run for Something has endorsed over 4,000 candidates and rescinded fewer than a dozen endorsements.
“running for something has endorsed more than 4,000 candidates over the last 10 years. I believe we've had to rescind fewer than a dozen of those endorsements”
Listen from 7:40 · Run for Something
Dan Pfeiffer
Pfeiffer argues that while vetting failed, the scandals that ended Platner's campaign reflected his own failure to disclose them.
“Plattner is a failure of vetting on one end, but the things that ended his campaign is a failure of character on his part”
Listen from 11:37 · Candidate recruitment and vetting
Amanda Litman
Litman is cautiously optimistic about Maine, citing Collins's and Trump's unpopularity.
“I am still cautiously optimistic. I mean, Maine is a state that voted for Kamala. Susan Collins is deeply unpopular. Trump is even more unpopular”
Listen from 13:28 · 2026 United States Senate election in Maine
Dan Pfeiffer Prediction · due Nov 2026
Pfeiffer believes Democrats still have a real chance to win the Maine Senate race if it becomes about Susan Collins.
“I still think we have a very real shot to win this race. I really do”
Listen from 14:03 · 2026 United States Senate election in Maine
Amanda Litman
Litman argues Janet Mills's candidacy shows the establishment also got the Maine race wrong.
“So to say that this proves that the establishment always gets it right and the new people always get it wrong. No, this is villains on all sides here”
Listen from 20:29 · 2026 United States Senate election in Maine
Amanda Litman
Litman attributes DSA's success to frustrated young voters seeking solutions and to DSA's organizing strength.
“I think also DSA has built some organizing muscle in a lot of these places, which should not be underrated”
Listen from 26:26 · Democratic Socialists of America
Dan Pfeiffer
Pfeiffer notes that polling shows socialism's favorability among Democrats is highest among 30-to-44-year-olds, not the youngest voters.
“The group with the highest approval rating of or highest favorability rate of socialism is not 18 to 29-year-olds. It's 30 to 44”
Listen from 26:59 · Democratic Socialists of America
Amanda Litman
Litman says new candidates in Trump's second term increasingly cite frustration with the Democratic Party as their reason for running.
“people explicitly saying, I am running for office because they are not going to fight for me. They have not delivered for me”
Listen from 30:28 · Run for Something
Amanda Litman
Litman argues the establishment has lost credibility on electability arguments.
“I think the establishment, quote unquote, has lost all credibility on that argument. They thought Joe Biden could win another term”
Listen from 41:21 · 2026 United States Senate election in Michigan
Dan Pfeiffer
Pfeiffer suggests some of the electability concerns about El-Sayed are unspoken subtext about his name, as with Obama.
“Is it because his name is Abdul El-Sayed? Is that what the reason is? That's the subtext of a lot of this, but no one will actually say that”
Listen from 44:10 · 2026 United States Senate election in Michigan
Amanda Litman
Litman says that, although Stevens is not the right candidate, much of the criticism of her has been sexist.
“a lot of the criticism of her about being unelectable or being a bad candidate is so sexist”
Listen from 45:06 · 2026 United States Senate election in Michigan
Amanda Litman
Litman cites polling showing AIPAC is deeply unpopular with Michigan Democratic primary voters.
“AIPAC has a net negative 46 favorability rating. 78% of Michigan Democratic primary voters said they'd be less likely to”
Listen from 48:03 · American Israel Public Affairs Committee
Dan Pfeiffer
Pfeiffer argues that large-scale Democratic votes against aid to Israel, including Nancy Pelosi's, would once have been unimaginable.
“the idea that Nancy Pelosi and a member of the House leadership would vote against aid to Israel would have been impossible to imagine”
Listen from 51:05 · Gaza war
Amanda Litman
Litman urges activists to welcome Democrats who have come late to opposing aid to Israel rather than punishing them.
“The point of persuasion is to get people to agree with you”
Listen from 52:05 · Gaza war
Amanda Litman
Litman predicts the Democratic Party is nearing a tipping point where most of its leaders will be Run for Something alumni.
“I really do believe we are on the brink of a tipping point where the party is going to be more run for something alum than not”
Listen from 55:28 · Run for Something
Amanda Litman
Litman contrasts Run for Something's roughly $8 million budget with the Republican Leadership Institute's $50 million.
“Run for Something's budget is $8 million a year, just about. The Republican counterpart to Run for Something is called the Leadership Institute”
Listen from 1:00:28 · Campaign finance in the United States
Dan Pfeiffer
Pfeiffer says he cannot understand why savvy donors favor short-term TV ad spending over long-term infrastructure investment.
“I've never been able to figure out why when you talk to them about investments that pay out over time is less appealing than the short-term”
Listen from 1:02:41 · Campaign finance in the United States

People

In the conversation

Dan PfeifferCo-host of Pod Save America, author of the Message Box newsletter, and former White House communications director
Amanda LitmanFounder of Run for Something, reportedly approached about the DNC chair job

Discussed

Graham PlatnerPresumptive Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine
Susan CollinsRepublican senator who noted Congress holds the power of the purse
Janet MillsGovernor of Maine who suspended her Senate campaign
Chuck SchumerSenate Democratic leader
Haley StevensU.S. Representative running for Senate in Michigan
Abdul El-SayedDemocratic Senate nominee in Michigan
Mallory McMorrowMichigan state senator running for U.S. Senate
Zohran MamdaniNew York Democratic politician described by Pape as a left-wing parallel to Trump's rapid rise
Mike RogersRepublican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee
Hakeem JeffriesHouse Democratic leader Haywood met about NIL
Nancy PelosiUS congresswoman whose husband was attacked with a hammer in their San Francisco home
Barack ObamaFormer president referenced in comparing 2010 midterm conditions
Diana DeGetteColorado congresswoman facing a DSA primary challenge
James TalaricoDemocratic Senate nominee in Texas

Topics

Have Republicans Already Blown the Midterms?
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Dan Pfeiffer and Cook Political Report's Amy Walter assess the 2026 midterm landscape two weeks out, covering Senate and House races, polling, Trump, and redistricting.
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Pod Save America · Sep 27, 2026 · 1 h 2 min
Live at the Texas Tribune Festival, the Pod Save America hosts assess Texas and national midterm races, Xi Jinping's visit, and interview congressional candidate Bobby Pulido.
The Search for an Exciting Moderate
Pod Save America · Jul 26, 2026 · 1 h 15 min
Jon Favreau and Matt Yglesias debate how a moderate, center-left Democrat could gain attention, win the 2028 presidential primary, and appeal to swing voters.
The Primaries Will Continue Until Morale Improves
Pod Save America · Jul 21, 2026 · 1 h 11 min
Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett and Tommy Vietor discuss Trump at the World Cup final, the renewed Iran war, ICE killings, and Democratic primaries in Maine, Wisconsin and Michigan.
The Race to Replace Graham Platner
Pod Save America · Jul 10, 2026 · 1 h 24 min
Dan Pfeiffer and Alex Wagner discuss Graham Platner's exit from Maine's Senate race and the Iran war, then Pfeiffer interviews North Carolina Senate candidate Roy Cooper.
The Robinson-Twiggs DNA Evidence, and Assassination Culture, with Jack Posobiec, Sean Davis, and Sohrab Ahmari | Ep. 1355
The Megyn Kelly Show · Jul 8, 2026 · 1 h 43 min
Megyn Kelly reviews evidence from Tyler Robinson's preliminary hearing with Jack Posobiec, then discusses political violence, Graham Platner's collapse, and Iran with Sean Davis and Sohrab Ahmari.

From the publisher

Amanda Litman, president and co-founder of Run for Something, joins Dan to talk about what the spate of divisive of primaries means for Democrats and how progressives should be feeling heading into the midterms. They dive into the recruitment and vetting crisis that led to Graham Platner dropping out of the Maine Senate race, what comes next in the fight to unseat Susan Collins, and the increasingly contentious Michigan Senate primary between Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed. Want to listen to Pod Save America without the ads? Become a subscriber on Apple Podcasts , Supercast , YouTube , or Substack . For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here . For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date.

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 30, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Politics