Welcome to a Tuesday edition of Progress Report.
I’ll have more news this evening, but I wanted to get this out for anyone looking for hope in the Democratic Party and/or a new book to read.
Note: Unlike many journalists, I’ve gone fully independent, with no special advertising deals or close relationships with powerful politicians to temper what I write.
Subscription support means that I can publish scoops on national security failures and host live streams on breaking election news. It’s why I can highlight grassroots activists doing work that few are covering. And how I can speak truth to power.
You can help keep Progress Report afloat and build that network for just $5 a month — every subscription helps!
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s decision in March to vote to avert a government shutdown was an act of capitulation to Republicans. It may also prove to be a key moment in a reformation of the Democratic Party.
The Democrats who voted to fund the Trump regime sent a seismic shockwave through the rank and file and grassroots voters, collapsing what modicum of faith they may have retained in the party’s top brass. As I documented here, at mass protests that weekend initially planned to push back against DOGE, marchers took just as much aim at Democrats’ appointed leaders and longest-serving lawmakers. Some went even further and started the process of running for office themselves.
, the co-founder and president of the candidate recruitment and training nonprofit Run for Something, said that weekend saw a huge spike in messages from people interested in running for office.That’s particularly meaningful because the organization has experienced a massive influx of curious potential candidates since the November election, with more than 44K inquiries as of this past weekend. The number of candidates thins out as they make their way through the training pipeline — running for office is somewhat time consuming, even if the position itself is a part-time local job — but Run for Something has already endorsed a significant number of candidates for this cycle of off-year elections.
The organization plans on going even bigger in 2026, when it hopes to contest seats that have not had a Democratic candidate in years while also helping to create a new kind of Democratic Party that is much more aggressive in both fighting Trump and passing promised progressive legislation.
During our live streamed interview on Sunday, Litman and I spoke a lot about trying to transform the Democratic Party, which will require infusing it with courage and getting more young people elected to office up and down the ballot. Empowering young leaders is the central focus of Run for Something as well as Litman’s new book, When We’re In Charge, which expands the aperture to work as a guide for Gen Z and millennials in any industry or situation in life.
When We’re in Charge is a manual for aspiring leaders, from politicians to creatives to PTA parents, as well as a manifesto of sorts from Litman, who has called on the Democratic Party’s gerontocracy to step aside for new generations that can better relate to the struggles of everyday voters. The shifting youth vote was another important topic of conversation, and you can watch the entire thing in the video embedded at the top of this post. The new book hits stores on May 13th.
Wait, Before You Leave!
Progress Report has raised over $7 million dollars for progressive candidates and causes, breaks national stories about corrupt politicians, and delivers incisive analysis, and goes deep into the grassroots.
None of the money we’ve raised for candidates and causes goes to producing this newsletter or all of the related projects we put out. In fact, it costs me money to do this. So, I need your help.
For just $5 a month, you can buy a premium subscription that includes:
Premium member-only newsletters with original reporting
Financing new projects and paying new reporters
Access to upcoming chats and live notes
You can also make a one-time donation to Progress Report’s GoFundMe campaign — doing so will earn you a shout-out in the next weekend edition of the newsletter!
Share this post