Is the progressive revolution over? Has the Democratic Party permanently lost its connection to union voters? If Kamala Harris wins the election next month, how much of Joe Biden’s agenda would she keep intact? And, if she loses, how would the Democratic Party be changed by a second defeat to Donald Trump?
These are large and complicated questions, but they’re also crucial to understanding the progressive movement. So Vox’s politics team set out to answer them in a new package: “The present — and future — of the American left.”
What we found was surprising: The left is all-in on beating Trump, but their unity is unlikely to last after the election — regardless of who wins.
If Harris wins, progressives and centrists are already preparing for battle over her economic agenda. Meanwhile, activists who’ve seen Democrats move to the right on immigration are hoping that Harris — despite some tough talk on the campaign trail — would be a strongly pro-immigrant president. If she loses, progressives fear it’ll mark a new, more centrist era for the party — and Eric Levitz argues they have good reason to worry.
Asking, and answering, tough questions like these is part of what makes me so proud to be a part of Vox. We couldn’t do this work without the support of our audience. Please consider joining our community today by becoming a Vox Member.
—Patrick Reis, senior politics and ideas editor
