At the Atlantic, U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-NY, has a message to follow moderate Dems: Instead of whining about Zohran Mamdani’s primary victory in the NYC mayoral election, centrists should be backing better candidates and developing attractive agendas that actually motivate voters. … He’s right, of course. But the question is: What is a Dem centrist these days? Since centrism is not a set ideology and includes people with all sorts of varying opinions, it lacks the intensity and force of the hard left (and hard right, for that matter). The center includes a lot people who simply don’t live, eat and breathe politics. Nevertheless, Dem moderates had better get their act together soon or they’re going to go the way of moderate Republicans in the GOP, Torres warns:

“It’s not enough for the center left to be against the far left, to sneer at them. We actually have to put forward an affordability agenda. We have to be more introspective about our failures, to be blunt.”

Update – Here’s the latest reality check for Dems who think the party’s main problem is merely a matter of messaging, not actual policies, via the WSJ: “Democrats Get Lowest Rating From Voters in 35 Years, WSJ Poll Finds.”

Update II — 7.31.25 — At the Liberal Patriot, John Halpin takes a stab at explaining why approval of the Democratic Party is at a 35-year low. I agree with most of his points, including how Dems seem to have learned little since their big loss last year.