According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, The Tea Party movement was a political movement within the Republican party that began approximately in 2009. The Tea Party was a response to the weak response from Republicans following President Barack Obama’s victory in 2008, in which Democrats overwhelmingly won the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Presidency. The magnitude of this victory could not be understated— Democrats won 57 out of the 100 senate seats, a margin of victory which has yet to be replicated since. Politics in the years preceding Obama were generally seen as very cooperative, where both parties worked together to meet common goals, while respecting the opposing party’s majority. However, with some at-the-time radical proposals (such as “Obamacare,” the healthcare model of today that expanded federally provided healthcare access to millions) from the Democrats, and the majorities necessary to do it, many Republican voters grew disillusioned with their representatives. This compounded with the 2008 financial crisis, and, leading to the 2010 midterm elections, Republican voters had enough. The more populist and conservative wing of the Republicans began to hold protests and challenging Republican incumbents, leading to the formation of the contemporary Republican party that we recognize today. Britannica lists modern political figureheads such as Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio as all key figures of this Tea Party movement.
Understanding the Tea Party of 2010 may be critical to understanding what is happening within the Democratic establishment today. Over the summer, New York City (NYC) held its election primaries, these primaries allow voters to decide which candidate will advance to the general election for each major primary. While the Republican candidate was decided in advance (according to the NYC Board of Elections), the Democratic candidate was much more contentious. Eric Adams, the previous Democratic candidate and current mayor of NYC, withdrew from the Democratic primary after drawn-out legal battles, according to MSN. That left a crowded Democratic primary, in which two front runners eventually emerged: Andrew Cuomo, former governor of New York state; and Zohran Mamdani, a member of the New York state assembly. Andrew Cuomo, found guilty of sexually assaulting his staffers (AP News) and accused of mismanaging the COVID-19 crisis (CBS), represented the typical Democratic politician: experienced and loyal. His politics were generally seen as on-par with the Democratic Party, the same of which could not be said for Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani, much younger with only four years of experience in politics, represents a different side of the Democrats: progressive and bold. Mamdani supports fare-free busses, city-owned grocery stores, and a rent-freeze on rent-stabilized apartments, positions of which critics have called “socialist” or “communist,” labels perhaps not too misplaced, as Mamdani is also affiliated with the Working Families Party and Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
Campaigning between Cuomo and Mamdani was fierce, with both managing to fundraise the maximum allowed by the New York Board of Elections, according to both campaigns. National attention soon focused on this primary during what is otherwise an uneventful year in American elections. On June 24, citizens of NYC went to the polls, in what many pundits and pollsters predicted to be a close race. With New York City’s ranked choice voting, the election was expected to be close and drawn out as the Board of Elections took the time to count every last vote. It was anything but. Within the first round, announced on the same day, Zohran Mamdani had a sound lead over Cuomo, winning 43 percent of the first round vote compared to Cuomo’s 36 percent, a seven point lead predicted by almost noone. Not soon after, Cuomo publicly conceded, and the final round only made Mamdani’s victory more apparent, with 56 percent going to Mamdani over Cuomo’s 43, a thirteen point lead.
While the race for NYC isn’t over officially, many political pundits predict that Mamdani will soundly win the mayorship with the official endorsement of Democratic voters. Meanwhile, progressives across the country continue to see gains. Omar Fateh, a young member of the Minnesota Senate and self proclaimed Democratic Socialist, was endorsed by the Minneapolis Democratic Party on July 19 over incumbent Jacob Frey, before the endorsement was controversially rescinded on August 21. Many drew comparisons between Fateh and Mamdani, only further fueling the growing divide and potential change with the Democratic Primary. It is also important to note that this divide isn’t new, with Bernie Sanders’ runs for the presidency in 2016 and 2020 often being seen as the catalyst for a new and growing progressive movement in the United States. The Democratic Socialists of America and Working Families Party have also seen continuous growth and increasing victories in the last ten years. with names such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib in Congress, and Illinois’ own Rachel Ventura and Robert Peters in the state Senate. Even socialists not alligned with the Democrats saw gains in the 2024 presidential election with the Party for Socialism and Liberation seeing the greatest vote share since the Socialist Party pre-World War 2.
Of course, this growing appetite for more populist, progressive politics is coming to a head during the worst economic crisis since 2008, with companies continuing to increase prices post COVID-19 and in response to President Trump’s tariffs. Many in the Democratic party have also felt that Democrats are doing too little to combat President Trump’s agenda, with protests flaring up across the country. With all this in mind, its hard not to draw comparisons between the progressive/Democratic-Socialist movement in the Democratic party and the Tea Party within the Republican Party. However, as briefly mentioned earlier, 2025 is not an electorally busy year for America, and while there are promising gains for progressives in the few primaries held this year, I believe it is too soon to make any definitive statements one way or the other. This is not unlike the Tea Party, which had no notable electoral gains in 2009 during its infancy. However, 2026 will be the next midterm election, in which every representative, 36 governors, and 35 senators will all be up for a vote. If progressives want to ride this wave and radically transform politics as we see it today, 2026 may be their best shot, and is a midterm election pundits will surely be watching closely.
