Establishment Democrats couldn't have been too enthused in February when the Democratic National Committee elected 25-year-old activist David Hogg as one of the party's three vice chairs. Now, their dismay is turning to outrage with Hogg's announcement that he wants to help his outside organization spend $20 million to knock incumbent Democrats out of office. Amid the backlash, Hogg is already warning that there will be a campaign to destroy his reputation -- which has people wondering what kind of dirt the establishment has on him. 

Hogg, the noodle-armed leftist and perpetual meme-target who deftly exploited his status as a student at school victimized by a mass shooter to become a spotlight-adoring gun control activist, says he wants to rid the Democratic Party of a "culture of seniority politics" that's enabled ineffective legislators to linger, failing to bring the leftist agenda to life. "Our base is craving dramatic change,” said Hogg. “We need to show our base we’re here to fight for them. We need to show there are younger faces stepping up.”

In 2023, Hogg co-founded Leaders We Deserve, a political action committee. On Tuesday, the PAC said it's on a mission to target incumbent Democrats in 2026. To minimize collateral damage, Leaders We Deserve will only go after incumbents in "safe" districts where Republicans don't have a chance. "I want us to win the majority," explains Hogg. 

While he's shied away from naming incumbent targets just yet, he has named two that will not be under fire from his group, calling 85-year-old former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and 80-year-old Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky "fighters who are delivering." Both are already facing young 2026 challengers -- including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's former chief of staff gunning for Pelosi. 

"It’s an unprecedented, and controversial, move from a national officer within the Democratic Party that will enrage some insiders," notes Politico's Elena Schneider. Party chairman Ken Martin clearly isn't wild about the idea of a party officer gunning for incumbents:

“In order to ensure we are as effective as possible at electing Democrats to office, it is the DNC’s longstanding position that primary voters — not the national party — determine their Democratic candidates for the general election,” said Martin.

Of course, Martin's claim that the party's "longstanding position" is to yield to the will of primary voters is laughable when considering how the DNC manipulated the 2016 presidential primary to ensure Hillary Clinton would emerge victorious. His statement ended with what could be seen as a hint that Hogg should himself be ousted from the vice chair post he's held for less than 90 days. Martin said he's grateful for Hogg's service as a "passionate advocate...whether it be in his role as a DNC Vice Chair or in an outside capacity." Hogg doesn't want to leave, however:

“I’m going to fight to remain in this position because I believe I can serve the party. This [PAC] was my job when ...I was running [for vice chair], and I’m willing to fight to say why I believe both are possible at the same time. I’m not using the DNC’s resources in these races. I’m not going to get involved in the presidential primary and I’m abiding by what the current bylaws are.”

The internal warfare comes as the "Blue Team" is clearly on the rocks. According to a CNN poll released in March, the Democratic Party's favorability rating has collapsed by a whopping 20 percentage points in just four years, and now stands at just 29% -- the lowest in the history of CNN's poll, which goes back to 1992.  NBC News had a similar reading: 27% positive against 55% negative. "In more than 30 years of this poll, we've never seen either party hit a number this low, in terms of negatives," said NBC's Steve Kornacki.    

Plenty of insiders are venting about Hogg's threatened attack on incumbents. “We have to be so strategic and careful with our resources right now. ... So why are we in this circular firing squad against Democrats?” a DNC member asked Politico. As poor as the Democrats are doing in opinion polls, the GOP's majorities in Congress aren't overwhelming -- especially in the House, where Republicans emerged from the 2024 races with just a five-seat margin. 

Washington Rep. Suzan DelBene, who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee issued an oblique attack on Hogg's scheming against incumbents. “What I would tell anyone who wants to be helpful or to donate is to focus on those races where we can take back the majority," she told Politico.   

A senior Democratic leadership aide said top party leaders are "upset and frustrated...[Hogg's power play is] a real distraction and annoyance, when we should be laser-focused on winning back the House, not distracting press and donor attention on this."

For now, it's mostly just mild rebukes, but look for the Democratic Party knives to come out soon. Even Hogg knows it's coming, having posted this cryptic, foreshadowing message on X: 

We're already reaching for the popcorn.