The Democratic Party is facing a serious retention problem as more and more elected officials abandon the party, according to Fox News. In recent weeks, several Democrats have left the party, raising concerns about its future.
Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who has refused to fall in line with other Democrats on key issues, recently announced that she was leaving the Democratic Party and had registered as an independent.
Sinema is not the only elected leader to leave the party recently. New York City Councilman Ari Kagan and West Virginia state Senator Glenn Jeffries have also announced that they are leaving the Democratic Party.
The recent departures have led to speculation that the party is facing retention issues after Democrats maintained control of the Senate and narrowly lost the House. However, strategists from both sides of the aisle are divided over the reasons for the departures.
Some believe that Democrats have an “ideological problem” because of their “woke, progressive base”. Others, however, argue that the departures have nothing to do with the success of the party and are simply a result of individual strategic decisions.
Despite the recent shakeups within the party, some Democratic strategists remain optimistic about the party’s future. Jessica Tarlov, a Democratic strategist who serves as the head of research for Bustle, told Fox News Digital that she does not believe the departures are indicative of a retention problem.
“Sinema made a strategic decision to avoid a primary that she would’ve lost to [Democrat Rep. Ruben] Gallego,” Tarlov said. “As an independent, she knows that a three-way race would be handed to the GOP.”
Overall, it remains to be seen whether the Democratic Party will be able to overcome its retention problem and continue to be a dominant force in American politics. However, with more and more elected officials leaving the party, the future of the Democratic Party looks increasingly uncertain.
