Skip to content
Sign upSign up free
Sign up free
Opinion

Do Moderates Matter -- Or Is the Political 'Middle' a Myth?

Do Moderates Matter -- Or Is the Political 'Middle' a Myth?
Photo by Josh Johnson on Unsplash

With the progressive wing of the Democratic Party moving to assert itself in the 2026 midterms, many on the left worry these new candidates will scare away moderate voters. Yet Donald Trump's victories in 2016 and 2024 show moderates don't appear to spook easily.

By Dan Sally

With the progressive wing of the Democratic Party moving to assert itself in the 2026 midterms, many on the left worry these new candidates will scare away moderate voters. Yet Donald Trump's victories in 2016 and 2024 show moderates don't appear to spook easily. In this episode, Dan and Shawn break down how the term 'moderate' can be misleading and how the two-party system, party primaries, and the ability to micro-target audiences have marginalized moderate voters.

Tags: Opinion Middleweight Politics Independent Voters

Adhere to the IVN etiquette

By posting a comment, you agree to adhere to our etiquette rules: No partisan attacks, no personal attacks, substantiate your sources, no self-promotion.

Get IVN’s Free Weekly Newsletter:Get IVN’s Free Newsletter

Get IVN’s Free Weekly Newsletter:Get IVN’s Free Newsletter

Nonpartisan Issues. Diverse Perspectives.

Check your inbox and click the link to confirm.

Republish this article

Republishing guidelines

Republish IVN articles for free. Independent Voter News articles may be republished online or in print under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 license, on these terms:

  1. Credit the author and IVN. Keep the byline ("By Author Name, Independent Voter News") and the attribution note at the end, which links to the original.
  2. Point search engines to the original. Set the canonical URL of your copy to the original IVN article (the HTML we give you includes the tag).
  3. Keep the meaning. You may update time and place references and apply your house style. You may trim for length, as long as the cuts don't change the meaning or misrepresent the author. Keep the headline. Mark any additions as your own (for example "Additional reporting by ...").
  4. Translations are welcome. Translate faithfully, add "Translated from English by [your outlet]", and tell us at editor@ivn.us.
  5. Keep the links, including the link to the original article.
  6. Keep the tracking image. The HTML includes a 1-pixel image that counts readers on your page. It collects no personal information.
  7. Photos and illustrations. Images credited to IVN may be used with this article only. Images credited to others (AP, Getty, Unsplash, Wikimedia and so on) stay under their owners' terms. Secure the rights or switch "Include images" off.
  8. Don't sell it. You can't sell our articles or sell ads specifically against them. Your normal site advertising is fine.
  9. No implied endorsement. Don't suggest that IVN or the author endorses you, your candidates or your causes, or that donations to you support IVN.
  10. Keep labels. Opinion or analysis pieces keep that label.
  11. No bulk or automated republishing, and don't submit our articles to aggregators (Apple News, Google News, MSN) as your own.
  12. Corrections and removals. Update your copy when we correct it, and remove it promptly if we ask. We'll contact you at the email you give us.
  13. Questions or print republication: editor@ivn.us.

IVN staff: fill in who you're inviting above, then create the invite.

Preparing the article

Do Moderates Matter -- Or Is the Political 'Middle' a Myth?

By Dan Sally
Choose a format
  • HTML
  • Email HTML
  • Markdown
  • Formatted (.docx)
  • Plain text
  • WordPress blocks
  • PDF
Choose a platform
  • Substack
  • WordPress
  • Ghost
  • Medium
  • Squarespace
  • Wix
  • Webflow
  • Drupal
  • BLOX CMS (TownNews)
  • Arc XP
  • LinkedIn
  • Beehiiv
  • Mailchimp
  • Kit (ConvertKit)
  • Buttondown
  • Google Docs
  • Microsoft Word
  • Print / InDesign
  • Other website
  • Other newsletter

Photos credited to others need their owners' permission.

To for

Republishing somewhere else? Questions? editor@ivn.us