{"id":4241,"date":"2026-07-15T20:39:33","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T20:39:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4241"},"modified":"2026-07-15T20:39:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T20:39:33","slug":"left-right-and-nowhere-to-go-both-republicans-and-democrats-abandoning-the-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4241","title":{"rendered":"Left, right and nowhere to go: Both Republicans and Democrats abandoning the center"},"content":{"rendered":"
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OPINION:<\/strong><\/p>\n

America\u2019s political center is tired, angry and increasingly ignored \u2014 and both parties are about to make that problem much, much worse.<\/p>\n

Read more Smoke from Canadian wildfires drifting across multiple U.S. states<\/a><\/p>\n

More than 40% of Americans don\u2019t identify with either of the two major political parties. Research published in American Politics Research confirms what most of us already sense: The largest bloc in the American electorate is moderate, unaffiliated and deeply frustrated with a system that keeps locking them out of the conversation.<\/p>\n

In nearly half the country, these voters can\u2019t even participate in primary elections. The biggest group in American politics has the least power in it. So what are the two major parties doing about this? Sprinting in opposite directions, naturally.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with the Republicans. With President Trump having reshaped the party in his image, the GOP now believes it has a mandate to go further right (it still has no idea how wrong it is).<\/p>\n

And who\u2019s waiting in the wings to carry that torch? Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J.D. Vance \u2014 two men who have spent years auditioning for the role of Trump Without Trump, and neither of whom has demonstrated that he can win a national election on his own terms.<\/p>\n

The Republican base may be energized, but the math of a general election is unforgiving. Winning the primary is not the same as winning the country.<\/p>\n

On the other side of the aisle, Democrats have their own reckoning coming \u2014 and it\u2019s going to be loud. The democratic socialist wing of the party has been quietly, then not so quietly, racking up wins.<\/p>\n

Zohran Mamdani is now mayor of New York City. Katie Wilson runs Seattle. Janeese Lewis George just won the Democratic primary for mayor of the District of Columbia. And in congressional primaries, democratic socialists knocked off incumbents Dan Goldman, Adriano Espaillat and Diana DeGette \u2014 names that once seemed untouchable.<\/p>\n

None of this happened by accident. As one Hill commentator noted, \u201cDemocratic socialists have proven adept at political messaging. They have made appealing campaign promises, delivered passionate speeches and clever sound bites, and skillfully utilized ads and social media.\u201d They are, whatever you think of their platform, very good at this.<\/p>\n

Add to this the growing chatter about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York Democrat, mounting a theoretical presidential run in 2028, and it\u2019s clear that the Democratic Party\u2019s center of gravity is shifting leftward \u2014 fast. The establishment may not love it, but they\u2019re losing the argument.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has spent years positioning himself as the reasonable, telegenic alternative \u2014 the Democrat who could actually win a general election. But watch closely.<\/p>\n

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As the party\u2019s base moves left and the pressure to differentiate from a rightward-lurching GOP intensifies, expect Mr. Newsom to move with it. Politicians follow voters, and right now, Democratic primary voters are following democratic socialists.<\/p>\n

Fox News, to its credit, has been doing its best to make all of this sound terrifying. In the lead-up to the 2024 New York primaries, the network aired a segment warning viewers about the rise of the radical left, complete with alarming graphics listing the democratic socialist agenda: \u201cMedicare for All,\u201d ending military aid to Israel, taxing the wealthy.<\/p>\n

The problem? Polls consistently show that most Americans support these positions. A July AP-NORC poll found that 40% of Americans think the U.S. is \u201ctoo supportive\u201d of Israel. Pew found that 66% believe the government has a responsibility to ensure healthcare coverage for all Americans.<\/p>\n

Fox News set out to sound the alarm and ended up writing campaign ads.<\/p>\n

The democratic socialists who win in 2026 and beyond will face the hard arithmetic of coalition-building, budget constraints and a general electorate that remains more centrist than any primary suggests. A recent Gallup poll found that only 39% of U.S. adults view socialism favorably \u2014 a number that climbs to 66% among Democrats but craters to 14% among Republicans and 38% among independents.<\/p>\n

Those independents \u2014 the moderates, the frustrated, the locked out \u2014 are the people both parties keep failing. And yet their votes will almost certainly decide 2028.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor generations, workers have been stuck with a Democratic Party establishment selling us out to billionaires, landlords, and warmongers,\u201d said the co-chairman of the New York DSA, Gustavo Gordillo. \u201cAfter 10 years of building power here in New York, our movement is proving that democratic socialists do more than run winning campaigns \u2014 we govern with greater competence, and we actually deliver on our promises.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe. But delivering on promises in a city that already leans hard left is not the same as persuading a country that mostly just wants someone \u2014 anyone \u2014 who makes sense.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the opening. The question is whether either party will bother to walk through it.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Joseph Curl covered the White House and politics for a decade for The Washington Times. He can be reached at josephcurl@gmail.com.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Meet the wealthy new investor taking equity stakes in defense companies: The Pentagon<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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America’s political center is tired, angry and increasingly ignored — and both parties are about to make that problem much, much worse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,1185],"tags":[40,184],"class_list":["post-4241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","category-political-theater","tag-j-d-vance","tag-marco-rubio"],"yoast_head":"\nLeft, right and nowhere to go: Both Republicans and Democrats abandoning the center - Home Buyer Relocation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4241\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Left, right and nowhere to go: Both Republicans and Democrats abandoning the center - Home Buyer Relocation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"America's political center is tired, angry and increasingly ignored -- and both parties are about to make that problem much, much worse.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4241\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Home Buyer Relocation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-15T20:39:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=4241#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=4241\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a\"},\"headline\":\"Left, right and nowhere to go: Both Republicans and Democrats abandoning the center\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-15T20:39:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=4241\"},\"wordCount\":870,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=4241#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/88a3469ff635c1470c2fd9a25be49000.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"J.D. 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