Congressional Democrats Are Out of Step With Their Base
Right-leaning caucuses now hold a majority among Democrats in the House of Representatives. The dominance of centrist economic policy in the congressional party puts it increasingly out of step with Democratic voters.
As of 2025, a majority of House Democrats now belong to the party’s center-right caucus, the New Democrat Coalition. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
There’s a lot of excitement about and interest in the leftward movement of the Democratic Party base. I think it is very much a real development. The election of Zohran Mamdani, the mass turnout for the No Kings protests over the last year, and the growing majority of Democrats supporting progressive economic positions and Palestine all suggest as much.
But much less attention has been given to the shifting composition of the congressional Democratic Party, and here the story actually runs in the other direction. As of 2025, a majority of House Democrats now belong to the party’s center-right caucus, the New Democrat Coalition (NDC).
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