Matt Bennett — co-founder and executive vice president of the center-left think tank Third Way — joins the Chuck Toddcast to offer a pragmatist's anxious assessment of what the Mamdani-led DSA surge in New York actually means for the future of the Democratic Party. Bennett's central worry is whether the New York primaries represent a genuine "Tea Party moment" for the left — which he frankly admits would be scary for Democrats — though he takes some comfort in the fact that the three districts Mamdani candidates won are extraordinarily deep blue, and argues the national Democratic electorate simply isn't as extreme as the Republican base, making the party much harder to hijack than the GOP was. Bennett draws a crucial distinction in how these races were actually won: Mamdani himself won on affordability, but many of his endorsees won on Israel, where anti-Israel sentiment has become the number-one voting issue for New York progressives. He's careful but direct on the antisemitism question — not all of the far-left are antisemites, he says, but they are increasingly making common cause with them, pointing to the antisemitic abuse Dan Goldman faced during his campaign — and argues that while antisemitism won't ultimately eat the Democratic Party, it absolutely needs to be contained. Bennett is sharply critical of the self-inflicted wounds of progressive governance (decriminalizing shoplifting was a disaster, he says), and argues the broader problem is that left-coded "performative nonsense" fundamentally changed how voters see the party — that the country rejected both Biden's progressive overreach and the left's woke cultural politics, and that Biden's real mistake was bragging he was the most progressive president since FDR.

The conversation broadens into a rich strategic discussion about 2028 and the soul of the party. Bennett argues that parties are ultimately defined by their nominee, so Democrats will be fine if they simply get that choice right, and frames the Michigan Senate primary — where he's skeptical Abdul El-Sayed can beat Mike Rogers — as a fascinating case study in the tension between charisma and electability. He makes the case that charisma genuinely matters (Mamdani and El-Sayed have it), that "boring doesn't work" in modern politics, and that the biggest open question for 2028 is whether a center-left candidate can successfully run as a genuine change agent — because the status quo is extremely broken, and no one can win by running to preserve it. Bennett offers some encouraging signs for his wing of the party: Iowa is drifting back toward Democrats, James Talarico is a genuinely strong candidate in Texas, and candidate quality still matters enormously. He and Chuck dig into why Palestine became the defining progressive cause rather than the plight of the Uighurs, how social media and the collapse of civics education have sealed people into ideological bubbles, and why the word "socialism" means Norway to some voters and Cuba to others. Bennett argues that Netanyahu has personally turned off a generation of young Americans to Israel — and that if Israelis remove him, it could serve as a genuine relief valve for Democrats — and closes with a series of pointed predictions: Schumer should make clear soon that he won't run for leader again, Warren and Murphy are too far-left-coded to unify the party, both wings could actually rally around Brian Schatz as leader, and the Mamdani story, for all the panic it's generated, is ultimately a minor earthquake rather than a major fracture.

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Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Matt Bennett (The Third Way) joins the Chuck ToddCast

01:00 Third Way believes themselves to be center-left pragmatists

02:15 If NY primaries are a “Tea Party moment” for left, that’s scary for Dems

03:30 3 districts Mamdani candidates won are very deep blue

04:00 Worried about MI senate primary if Abdul El-Sayed wins

05:45 The far left could become a disruptive force inside the Dem party

08:00 Mamdani won on affordability, his endorsees won on Israel

09:30 Not all far-left are antisemites, but they’re making common cause with them

10:00 Dan Goldman faced antisemetic abuse during the campaign

11:15 Antisemitism won’t eat the Dem party, but needs to be contained

13:45 Progressive politicians decriminalizing shoplifting was a disaster

15:45 The national Dem electorate not as extreme as the GOP’s

17:30 It will be harder to hijack the Democratic electorate

19:30 Democrats suffered from a lack of charismatic leaders in the 80s

20:45 Parties are defined by their nominee, Dems will be fine if they get it right

21:30 Anti-Israel has become the #1 voting issue for New York progressives

22:45 Why has Palestine become the cause and not the Uighurs?

26:45 Social media and a lack of civics education has put people in bubbles

27:30 You have to be able to talk to people you disagree with

29:00 Socialism means Norway to some people and Cuba to others

32:00 Biden’s mistake was bragging he was most progressive president since FDR

32:45 The country rejected Biden’s progressive change & left’s “woke” culture

35:00 The left coded performative nonsense changed the view of the party

36:15 Al Gore lost as a VP to a popular president, Harris had impossible task

39:30 Could the Democratic base reject someone center-left in 2028?

40:45 The Michigan primary is a fascinating case study in Dem politics

42:00 Being charismatic like Mamdani or El-Sayed matters in politics

42:30 Democratic candidates have to get through the wall in South Carolina

44:15 Big question for 2028… can a center-left candidate run as a change agent?

46:30 Bibi Netanyahu has turned off a generation of Americans to Israel

48:45 If Israelis get rid of Netanyahu, that could be a relief valve for Dems

49:15 What can the establishment learn from the DSA?

49:45 The status quo is extremely broken, can’t run on preserving it

50:45 Iowa is coming back to the Democratic party

51:45 Candidate quality matter and Talarico is a good candidate

53:00 Boring doesn’t work in modern politics

55:30 What does success look like for the center left in the 2026 midterms?

56:15 Skeptical that El-Sayed can beat Mike Rogers in Michigan

57:15 Schumer should make clear he won’t run in 2028 and announce it soon

58:00 Warren and Murphy are too far left and far left coded

58:30 Both wings of the party can agree on Brian Schatz as leader

59:00 Mamdani story is a minor earthquake not a major fracture