Wisconsin’s Democratic primary has resulted in a huge loss for the progressives following Francesca Hong’s defeat. While this has resulted in a massive wave of discussion within progressive spaces online, many believe that this loss was a much-needed wake-up call for the party.
There has been a large schism that has been developing within progressive and socialist spaces within the United States, and unsurprisingly, it largely revolves around race. Progressives and socialists have had a harder time connecting with Black American and older voters for years, and it’s shown in the party’s demographics. At least 68% of people within the U.S. progressive party are white adults, typically with backgrounds in higher education and under the age of 50.
What keeps many minority voters uninterested in voting for these candidates is how, unfortunately, many progressive politicians put class consciousness and class solidarity above anything else, when many minority voters see that issues like class often intersect with other necessary issues like racism.
Many black voters don’t believe that progressive politicians will have their communities’ best interests at heart or that many within these spaces are willing to make compromises or even align with certain Republican and even establishment democrat politicians who have past racist actions that were never condemned.
However, Hong’s defeat also showed progressives that while they do have a leg up over many politicians in younger demographics, they have a long way to go to be able to get the interest of older Americans.
