It might take ‘a lightning bolt from God’ to get these Senate Democratic hopefuls to bow for independents

By Adele Rutherford · Reporting from Atlanta · August 1, 2026

The current maneuver being executed by Democratic strategists—the idea that they can simply “build a coalition with independents in order to win elections” (latimes.com)—is…

The Illusion of Independent Support

The current maneuver being executed by Democratic strategists—the idea that they can simply “build a coalition with independents in order to win elections” (latimes.com)—is nothing more than political arithmetic dressed up as desperation. It is an attempt to sidestep the foundational problem of their own brand: that it, as one Democratic strategist noted, "is awful right now." This whole enterprise smells less like coherent strategy and more like procedural panic, a frantic effort to patch structural leaks in a sinking ship. The process person knows this game; power does not come from floating percentages or the passing fancy of an anti-establishment voter. It comes from reliable machinery, and what I see here is merely opportunistic borrowing.

When Parties Abandon Their Own Candidates

The history books are littered with examples of parties attempting to court the moderate outsider, believing that a temporary embrace of independence will solve deep structural problems. The Harvard Political Review details this pattern: the 2014 Kansas race, where an independent candidate successfully leveraged dissatisfaction with GOP governance; or the 2022 Utah contest, where Democrats declined to nominate anyone and instead endorsed Evan McMullin. These instances are not proof of a sustainable model; they are merely evidence that when a party’s core message fails, it resorts to these procedural shortcuts.

The current flirtation with independents—seen in Nebraska's focus on Dan Osborn or the general trend described by latimes.com—is highly suspect. The very nature of this strategy is predicated on the assumption that voters are fundamentally anti-party, a notion contradicted by the fact that even when Democrats field candidates like Matt Schultz (Alaska) or Cindy Burbank (Nebraska), they still require massive fundraising efforts and organized infrastructure to compete against Republican incumbents like Mike Rounds in South Dakota. Furthermore, reports from politico.com confirm this desperation is localized; Montana and South Dakota have explicitly stated they have no plans to step aside for independent campaigns.

The Weight of Failed Precedents

This entire charade echoes the procedural chaos of the Democratic National Convention (1968), when the failure of a major party establishment to contain internal dissent led to the temporary fracturing of its core voter base. That precedent is not a blueprint for modern victory; it is a warning about the corrosive effect of instability. The attempt to signal flexibility—to say that "Idahoans should be able to live how they want" (latimes.com)—is merely code for: we don't know who we are, so we will appeal to everyone until the moment the votes come due.

The Democratic Party has forgotten that legitimacy is a capital stock that spends fast and refills slowly. They mistake procedural flexibility for genuine ideological strength. The fact remains that they have not secured any sustainable mechanism for winning these seats through their own candidates, forcing them instead into this embarrassing dance around the independent vote. This entire exercise in political triage reveals nothing about Democratic competence; it only illuminates how far from center ground they feel they are. They will find that the voters who appreciate "pragmatism" (Bill Hill, latimes.com) are not merely looking for a moderate face to support—they are looking for a coherent governing philosophy, and what this strategy offers is nothing but procedural ambiguity.

They have failed the contract on exactly these points: they do not possess the institutional strength or the unified message required to win without appealing to the anti-party vote.

It might take ‘a lightning bolt from God’ to get these Senate Democratic hopefuls to bow for independents

The Illusion of Independent Support

When Parties Abandon Their Own Candidates

The Weight of Failed Precedents

Sources