A year ago, I was elected DNC Vice Chair.
I ran for this volunteer role for a very simple reason. After the election, I attended my first DNC Executive Committee meeting to hear what party leadership thought went wrong. A pollster presented on the loss, and the very first group she highlighted was 18–29-year-old voters.
I looked around a table of more than 30 committee members and didn't see a single person under 30.
In that moment, I realized I could either keep complaining about institutions like the DNC or step in and try to be the change I — and so many people my age — wanted to see. After endless hours on the phone and a relentless campaign, I was elected at 24.
During my time as vice chair, one truth became impossible to ignore: for decades, we've claimed we have a messaging problem. In reality, we have a messenger problem.
To strengthen the party, we don't need a new slogan — we need new, bold, young leaders who change what it means to be a Democrat.
So, I announced that Leaders We Deserve would challenge asleep-at-the-wheel incumbents in safe blue districts. Not to weaken the party but to strengthen it. To create accountability. To ensure that no seat is so "safe" that it excuses stagnation.
I could bore you to death about by-laws, and get into the nitty gritty of the "procedural" maneuver the DNC used to re-do the vice chair election, but for now, I'll say this: that decision terrified the establishment.
So I chose not to seek re-election. And honestly? That decision unlocked everything.
Stepping away meant freedom. Freedom to fully focus on backing bold, forward-thinking leaders like Justin Pearson, Nida Allam, and Patrick Roath. Freedom to send Christian Menefee to Congress.
Freedom to challenge a political ecosystem that too often rewards consultants who make millions while campaigns lose the most consequential elections of our lifetime. Freedom to build something better.
Today isn't a day for regret. It's a day to reflect on what Leaders We Deserve has already made possible and the work still ahead.
Sometimes growth requires discomfort. Leaving the DNC freed me to act decisively, support real change-makers, and fight for a Democratic Party that actually resonates with voters. And the data is starting to show it — recent polling and youth turnout in Virginia prove young people are beginning to come back.
And Jason, none of this happens without you. Our candidates don't take corporate PAC money. They don't answer to special interests. They rely on grassroots supporters like you.
I'm incredibly proud of what we've built together — and grateful for the more than 200,000 donors who give us the independence to do what's right, not what's comfortable.
Thank you for being part of this movement.
— David Hogg
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