On college campuses across the country, Democratic student groups are going beyond registering voters and hosting candidate forums — they’re looking to change how their party functions ahead of the midterms.
With November’s elections approaching, Democratic candidates are seeking young voters’ support as they campaign to regain control of Congress. However, for some young Democrats, that support comes with expectations: they want the party to better reflect their issues and communities.
The debate over the party’s direction is especially visible in this year’s Democratic primaries. In Michigan, Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D-Mich.) defeated Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), emerging as a prominent progressive candidate in the race. El-Sayed’s campaign has embraced progressive policies, including Medicare for All, taxing billionaires and curbing corporate influence in politics.
Stella Camerlengo, who co-leads the College Democrats chapter at the University of Michigan, said those positions align with issues increasingly drawing young voters toward progressive politics.
“I think a lot of [young voters] are very fed up with the status quo,” Camerlengo said. “We’re seeing healthcare costs skyrocket. We’re not able to afford our rent.”
Camerlengo said her chapter of College Democrats is focusing on mobilizing students to get involved with local and national Democratic campaigns. This includes registering voters, knocking on doors, voter outreach and building community with one another.
“All the work that our executive board does is unpaid,” Camerlengo said. “And these are really just passionate students that are using their time and energy out of the goodness of their own hearts to make a difference in this state and in the country.”
While doing this work, Camerlengo said she’s noticed young voters becoming increasingly concerned about their inability to afford necessities like gas, groceries and rent. These issues, she said, should be among the priorities of representatives on Capitol Hill.
“Young people are really tired of the way that we have been neglected, but also the way that our politicians are not sticking up for us and our futures,” she said.
Those concerns are not limited to Michigan.
Keely Fox, a senior in the School of Public Affairs and the Kogod School of Business, said she has also noticed these concerns, adding that many of these progressive candidates are more “connected” to the communities they’re looking to represent.
“A lot of these progressive candidates are a lot more involved, and they’re showing that they really want to push for change,” Fox said.
As president of American University’s chapter of College Democrats, Fox said the University’s chapter is focused on both local and national races, including El-Sayed’s. The group has hosted several phone banking and canvassing events to get students involved with these campaigns ahead of the midterms.
The group is also working on local campaigns, including D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George, a self-described democratic socialist whose platform centers on affordability, including expanded access to childcare and housing.
According to the Democratic Socialists of America, democratic socialism seeks to put economic and political power in the hands of working people rather than corporations and wealthy individuals. The ideology has gained renewed attention largely thanks to the perceived success of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who identifies as a democratic socialist. Now, 32 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say they like political leaders who identify as democratic socialists.
In June, Lewis George won the Democratic primary for D.C. mayor with about 54 percent of the vote. Unlike El-Sayed, George openly identifies with the democratic socialist political ideology. Still, both candidates have attracted support from students involved in Democratic organizing at the University, Fox said.
“The idea that these [candidates] are really involved and understand is really what’s pulling more young people towards that,” Fox said.
For Fox, the campaign work is part of a larger purpose: creating connections between young people and the political organizations they want to participate in.
“I view our club more as a platform with resources and opportunities and connections,” she said.
That community is something she hopes to see reflected in the Democratic Party’s debate between progressive and moderate members before the midterms.
“One issue I really have with a lot of institutional Democrats is, I feel as though they spend a lot of time not in their community,” Fox said. “And I do believe that community is really the answer to most of our politics and a lot of the issues that we see happening in our society at this current moment.”
This debate over the ideology has also extended beyond college campuses.
Lawmakers in Congress from both parties have criticized the growing visibility of democratic socialist candidates, with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) warning that socialism represents a “dangerous” political trend. In September, the House voted 220–192 to adopt a resolution condemning “all forms” of socialism, with support from both Republicans and Democrats.
Fox said she thinks establishment Democrats who have pushed back on progressive and democratic socialist candidates are “manufacturing that split” within the party for a reason.
“A lot of these Democrats who are more moderate are shying away from the idea of change because I think change can be really scary,” she said. “But truly, that’s what politics is supposed to be. It’s supposed to be about reforming and changing for the better.”
After President Donald Trump was elected in 2016, Fox said the Democratic Party vowed to change its approach to politics and better connect with voters. But after Trump was reelected in 2024, she said she felt that the party had not followed through on those changes.
“The way of doing things was obviously not proving to be successful, and I think lots of people felt like it wasn’t proving to be successful for a while,” Fox said.
That shift in thinking, she said, is part of why she sees progressivism and democratic socialism as overlapping movements, with both focused on similar goals and community work.
“Instead of thinking of them as our counterparts, think of them as like we’re under a huge umbrella of progressivism,” Fox said.
Ultimately, Fox said she hopes voters worry less about political labels and more about which candidates will fight for them and their community.
“Think about what your community needs right now, and think about if your representatives are representing what that need is,” she said.
This article was edited by Sophie Milner-Gorvine, Cara Halford and Gabrielle McNamee. Copy editing done by Avery Grossman, Mattie Lupo, Jaden Maitland Anderson and Ryan Sieve. Fact-checking done by Luca Palma Poth and Josie Burnette.
