David Hogg is making it clear he’s not going anywhere — whether Democrats like it or not.
The 25-year-old gun control activist opted not to run again for his post at the Democratic National Committee after his decision to get involved in primaries sparked intense backlash. But Hogg has continued to be active on the political scene, meeting with New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and encouraging primary challenges for Democrats who support U.S. intervention in Iran.
While some Democrats have welcomed him back into the fold since his exit, other members of the party fear he could be a hindrance as they prepare for the midterms. Regardless of what his fellow party members think of him, though, Hogg has made it clear he’s here to stay.
“I’m not going away,” he told The Hill in his first interview since his announcement to forgo running for DNC vice chair.
“What people are trying to do is focus on talking about me a lot of the time, when really it’s because they don’t want to talk about the fact that we do have a real problem — a real problem with comfortability and competition,” he said, “and they don’t want to acknowledge the uncomfortable truth, which is that we have to dramatically change as a party and what brought us here, is not what’s going to get us out.”
Hogg has remained an outspoken member of the party more than a week since he decided not to run again for a DNC vice chair spot. On X, he has called out lawmakers as hypocrites for questioning paying for the price of universal health care or canceling student debt while not raising concerns over the price of another war.
He also said prior to the bombing of Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend that any Democrat who supports war with the Islamic Republic needs to be primaried, adding that that his generation “grew up going through two multi trillion dollar wars we should have never been involved in.”
Ahead of the New York City mayoral Democratic primary on Tuesday, he appeared alongside Mamdani, with his group Leaders We Deserve endorsing the New York State assembly member. The New York Times reported that the group also contributed $300,000 to a Working Families Party super PAC, which ranks Mamdani first on its slate of endorsed candidates.
Hogg told The Hill that since he’s decided to forgo running again within the DNC, he’s called his supporters to thank them and said he’s been focused on his Leaders We Deserve group.
“There’s a lot of work that we got to do, too, to recruit candidates around the country and find the best seats for them to run in, and vet them and do all that we can to support them,” he said, noting the group’s “been looking increasingly into Virginia” in addition to being focused on the midterms.
Hogg’s involvement in party primaries while a vice chair at the DNC drew intense backlash from fellow Democrats. Now that he’s no longer in that position, questions are growing about what role he should play in the party going forward.
“I want to see our party grow,” said Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright, who was critical of Hogg during his brief tenure at the DNC. “I want to see our infrastructure strengthen.”
“I want to see our coalition rebuild and expanded, and if he can contribute to that without being [a] distraction, then we welcome that,” he added.
Seawright, who served as an adviser to former DNC chair Jaime Harrison, said it’s “yet to be determined” whether Hogg is a distraction or a problem for the party.
Matt Bennett, executive vice president for public affairs at the center-left Third Way noted that Hogg’s “got a point” that there are some lawmakers who aren’t as effective as they used to be because they’ve aged. At the same time, he questioned the use of resources toward supporting challenging incumbents, saying “spending $20 million to beat Democrats in primaries is the wrong use of resources” right now.
Leaders We Deserve is quick to point out that its $20 million investment is not entirely going toward challenging Democratic incumbents but toward a host of other efforts, too.
“We’re challenging incumbents, but we’re also doing open seats. We’re also going to do red-to-blue races, and we’re going to continue doing state legislative work as well,” said, Kevin Lata, co-founder and executive director of the political group.
“The sum total of what we’re doing is going to cover all of that,” he added.
New York state Sen. James Skoufis, a Martin ally who was named as a member of the DNC’s “People Cabinet,” has been particularly critical of Hogg.
“I don’t want anyone to be a public-facing member of the party who is intent on sowing divisions and whose actions will make it more difficult for us to rebuild our brand and start winning elections again,” he said.
It’s a fraught time to be a Democrat. The party’s approval ratings are abysmally low, members are desperately looking for the right leaders and messengers to take on President Trump in his second term and questions remain over how Democrats can win back key voting blocs it struggled with, such as young men and Latinos.
Adding to the urgency for the party is the Trump administration’s decision to move forward with military intervention in Iran over the weekend, actions that drew swift condemnation from many Democrats.
Hogg hasn’t been the only one under scrutiny; Martin has garnered criticism from some within the party over how he’s helmed the DNC since becoming chair in February.
The DNC chair has sought to brush off the criticism in a statement, saying: “Some people in D.C. just want to win an argument, but I’m focused on winning elections,” pointing out the party has over-performed or won in 30 elections this year alone.
Hogg, who spoke with The Hill prior to the bombings in Iran, views the disputes directed toward him as “strategic disagreements,” saying he doesn’t take them personally and emphasizing his efforts are about strengthening the party.
And he made it clear that the party wasn’t going to be able to improve its brand “with the same cast of characters that brought us here.”
“This isn’t about me, it’s about the party, and it’s about fostering healthy competition, a healthy culture of competition in the party, to make sure that we have the best representatives possible, so that we never have another situation like” what we had last cycle, Hogg told The Hill.
A clear source of tension was the fact that Hogg was engaging in primaries as a DNC officer.
Some DNC committee members told The Hill they welcomed the idea of having him partner with the national committee after he decided against running for his vice chair spot.
Members of the party, too, still want to see the gun control activist remain a clear presence within the party and believe he has a special role to play.
“I think his voice is critical,” said Maria Cardona, a Democratic strategist and DNC member who voted for Hogg in the February election.
“I hope that David Hogg will now move forward and do what he does best, which is to give those who don’t believe they have a voice, a voice in the system that desperately needs everyone’s participation in order to work as it should,” she said.
Cardona said she hoped to see Hogg mobilizing younger voters, registering them to vote and help encourage young people to run for office.
Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said Hogg was dialing into the “the zeitgeist” of what “both Democratic base voters and election voters are feeling right now, which is [the] Democratic Party needs a different vibe.”
Even some Hogg skeptics or members of the party who might ideologically differ with him believe he has the potential to play an important role in the party, particularly as someone who can mobilize and engage with his young generation.
“We need more common-sense gun reform, and David Hogg can help with that, and I would love to work with him on that,” said Jon Kott, a Democratic strategist who served as a top aide to former Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.). “I think David Hogg brings energy to a younger generation that doesn’t vote. David Hogg can help get those people out to vote. I’d love to work with him on that.”
Hogg left the door open to partnering with the DNC, saying he’d be happy to have a conversation with them, including working with them after primaries when the attention is focused on the general election.
“Happy to do that, because I do care about us having unity,” he said. “What I care about far more than that, though, is making sure that we are trying to change things, and that we’re united in getting Democrats elected.”