Progressives eye shift in strategy after high-profile losses

Following Nina Turner’s defeat in an Ohio special House election, left-wing Democrats have privately acknowledged that aspects of their strategies have not served them well politically. While some suggest only modest revisions are needed at this point, others are considering more robust changes to their internal operations to avoid future bruises.

The conversations, which are occurring largely out of the public view, are the latest sign that progressives are aggressively searching for ways to retain momentum and counter the emerging orthodoxy that moderate Democrats are preferable for 2022.

“Nina’s race shows — and perhaps some others — that we’ve got to up our game,” said Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution, the leading group that backed Turner’s bid in the state’s 11th Congressional District. “That means upping our phone game, upping our canvas game, upping our text game.”