The two candidates uniting the Democratic Party

Across the country, Democrats are tearing each other apart in key midterm primaries.

In Michigan, progressives, centrists, and the pro-Israel lobby are brawling over their preferred candidates in the three-way race for U.S. Senate. In Maine, that state's U.S. Senate race effectively ended last month when Governor Janet Mills, a candidate recruited by the Democratic Party establishment in Washington, ceded the nomination to Bernie Sanders-backed oyster farmer Graham Platner. Congressional primaries from Texas to New York have hosted their own versions of the same fight: culturally Left squad members versus suburban moderates, young progressive influencers versus normie Substack columnists, billionaire donor pets versus small-dollar grassroots favorites.

But in two of the most important must-win midterm battleground House races, something unusual is happening: the party's centrist establishment and its progressive Bernie wing are backing the same candidates.

In Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, Rebecca Cooke is making another bid for the seat held by Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden, in a district Trump won by single digits in 2024. A quick skim of her endorsement list illustrates the kind of unique political phenomenon I’m talking about: Bernie Sanders and the conservative Blue Dog PAC, EMILY’s List and the New Democrat Coalition, former Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg, Sen.Tammy Baldwin, and Sen. Elissa Slotkin. As a result, she raised $2.4 million in the first quarter of 2026, more than any other candidate in the DCCC’s Red to Blue program.

A few states away in Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, firefighter and union leader Bob Brooks has collected a similarly varied assortment of endorsements. He too got the nod of both the Blue Dogs and Bernie Sanders, in addition to the support of moderate Gov. Josh Shapiro. Other seemingly contradictory endorsements include those of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Pete Buttigieg, the Working Families Party, and moderate Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE).

So what is it that makes Cooke and Brooks unifying figures in a party that seemingly can't agree on where it should go? Is it their policy platforms? Their biographies? A desire to win these districts by any means necessary?

It's probably all of the above. Both candidates have compelling, working-class backgrounds rooted in the uniqueness of their districts. For Cooke, it's growing up on a dairy farm and waitressing tables. For Brooks, it's his career as a firefighter and union leader. They each offer policy platforms anchored in affordability, the message that has powered most winning Democratic campaigns since 2024. And importantly, neither comes across as having picked sides in the hyper-online feuds dominating Democratic discourse.

Listening to some of their actual backers may provide more clues. In an interview with The Keystone’s Sean Kitchen back in March, Buttigieg explained that Brooks' focus on pocketbook issues and his blue-collar background were a factor in winning his support. “When you have a strong message about making life easier for the working class…that can cut through some of the factions and some of the tug of war that happens in any primary process.” The moderate potential presidential candidate sounded a similar note when endorsing Cooke: “She understands what families are going through, because she’s lived it.”

Then, there’s the Bernie Sanders endorsement. When the 80-year-old progressive icon appeared in Wisconsin on his Fight Oligarchy tour last August, Rebecca Cooke joined him on stage. At the time, he told Wisconsin Public Radio that "Democrats have got to make a fundamental decision: Which side are they on," and "[with Cooke], you're seeing a new breed of young Democrats who say, 'You know what, I know what side I'm on. I come from the working class.'"

In addition to both campaigns, I reached out to a number of strategists to understand why these candidates have racked up such a diverse array of support. In a brief interview, Brooks explained why he thinks he and Cooke have united warring factions of the party behind their candidacies.

"I am a working-class person. We've lost a whole group of people just like me over the last few elections where they drifted to the right because they felt left behind," Brooks told me. "I think it's time we pull 'em back in. I think I have a unique ability to do that, and I think that's why everybody's coalescing around this campaign, and probably Rebecca also. It's the fact that I'm not out there pretending to be somebody I'm not—I'm out there worried about the people."

What these two campaigns are pulling off (Note: Brooks' primary is next week) is rare in a party where many candidates and operatives seem more interested in fighting their own factional battles than in actually winning elections.

"They're building the biggest tents, because they're setting out to build the biggest tents," Democratic strategist Andrew Mamo told me. "If you say everybody's welcome, then I think everybody shows up. But if you clearly say, for example, that you're on team number four, then it's no surprise that team number three and team number five don't want to come out and support you."

Of course, the unity behind Cooke and Brooks is partly a function of the races themselves. In must-win Trump districts where every vote counts, both wings of the party have an interest in playing nice. I think the real test is what happens after November, when a freshman Rep. Cooke or Rep. Brooks has to vote on the next progressive litmus-test bill, and the same factions that endorsed them start sharpening their knives.

Former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, who is running to retake his old Ohio seat from Sen. Jon Husted, is out with a new television ad slamming the first-term Republican over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

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