Democrats' secret ploy to trick voters into backing them... and why it might actually work

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Shell-shocked Democrats are considering dropping labels like 'progressive' or even ditching the party altogether after they got shellacked by Donald Trump in November. 

After a left-leaning campaign by Vice President Kamala Harris delivered lackluster results, some Dems believe they should drop polarizing positions and run as independents as the party veers away from working class values. 

'The Democratic brand is in the toilet,' Lis Smith, former senior advisor to Pete Buttigieg's 2020 campaign, told the New York Times.  

'Many of the Democrats who succeeded this cycle - our best over-performers in House races, for instance - are people who ran against the Democratic Party brand,' she continued. 

'Trump tore down the blue wall in the industrial Midwest, but he also expanded his vote the most in our bluest and most urban areas.'

The marquee names of the past are either too old - Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Bernie Sanders - or term limited like Barack Obama. 

Several candidates are vying to lead the party as DNC chair, but others like John Fetterman believe the left is out of step with the country and refuse to align with the wing.

'I was a progressive, but the situation's changed and I've been very clear that I didn't leave that label. That label [left] me,' the Pennsylvania Democrat said in June. 

Democrats believe that dropping labels like 'progressive' and even running away from the party altogether could be their way out of the wilderness after taking a beating from Donald Trump in November

After Kamala Harris ' loss and party stars of the past like Joe Biden , Barack Obama , the Clintons, Nancy Pelosi and Bernie Sanders all either term-limited or likely considered too old, it faces a lack of power and a crisis of confidence

The shifting party dynamics has caused normally Democratic politicians to wonder whether running as independents or third party candidates will help them cut into Republican strongholds.

Many are taking inspiration from Dan Osborn, who ran as an independent in Nebraska against Republican Deb Fischer. 

Osborn - who said he would not caucus with Dems but took money from party-affiliated groups - lost his race but out-ran Harris by a staggering 14 points.

The former mechanic and union leader spoke in favor of Donald Trump's border wall but also for pro-union and economic populist policies that were once the bread and butter of Democrats. 

However, he maintained his independence and says that he hopes there are more like him in the future.

'That's really what the country needs,' he said, noting that he hasn't ruled out another Senate run in 2026. 

A Democrat strategist speaking anonymously told Politico that winning in the future 'doesn't necessarily mean electing Democrats. But it means changing what the denominator is that we need to get to a majority.'

One possible area of where a third party can make inroads is the Florida governor's race, where Ron DeSantis is term limited in 2026. 

'The Democratic brand is in the toilet,' said Lis Smith, former senior advisor to Pete Buttigieg's 2020 campaign

Billionaire attorney John Morgan says he wants to run as a counter to Republican rule in Florida but with a new, so-called 'Capitalist Party' that would avoid what he believes are bad Democrat ideas

John Fetterman sees the liberal left taking positions out of step with the country and refuse to align with so-called progressives

Billionaire attorney John Morgan says he wants to run as a counter to Republican rule in Florida but with a new, so-called 'Capitalist Party' that would avoid what he believes are bad Democrat ideas. 

'I don't know if Trump is a stable genius, but he's a f***ing genius,' Morgan said, adding that while he was a donor to Joe Biden in 2024, he left the Democrats over far left views and those like Bernie Sanders who called themselves 'Democratic Socialists.' 

Morgan - who said Kamala Harris is disqualified 'forever' from running for office after her loss - is anti-monopoly, pro-legalization of marijuana, in favor of legalizing prostitution but also would ban transgender athletes in youth sports.  

'I think I know what people want and I think what people want is what I want,' Morgan told Politico. 

Another party dasher is Mike Duggan, the Democratic mayor of Detroit. Duggan decided to run as an independent to replace Gretchen Whitmer as governor of Michigan.

'I reached the conclusion that if you call yourself a Democrat, all the Republicans automatically line up against it. You call yourself a Republican, all the Democrats automatically line up against it,' Duggan said. 

'And I really don't think there's a path forward for this state if you don't get the reasonable folks in both parties to work together.'

Duggan has been praised by independent ex-Democrat Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who called him 'smart.' 

Democrat Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is running as an independent to replace Gretchen Whitmer as governor of Michigan

Duggan has been praised by independent ex-Democrat Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who called him 'smart' for running away from the Dems

Lavora Barnes, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, is skeptical, however. She believes he just doesn't want to compete in a primary. 

'I think what it speaks to is a mayor who has looked at the field and looked at the prospects going forward and made the calculation that his best path to victory is to not run in the Democratic primary,' she said. 

The Democrats will caucus in 2027, as they have in the past, with two very different independents: Bernie Sanders and Angus King of Maine. 

Sanders himself has suggested in an email to supporters that the future involves 'supporting Independent candidates who are prepared to take on both parties.' 

King, who is considered much more moderate than Sanders, thinks the day of the independents may be coming but it's going to be a challenge.

'Running as an independent is a difficult job because you don't have a party apparatus. I think there may come a time when there will be more people running as independents. But right now, the structure does not lend itself.'

It comes after Republicans not only won the White House including the GOP president-elect picking up the popular vote for the first time, but Republicans were able to flip the Senate and will hold a slim majority in the House come January.

Democrats will be on defense as they face a GOP trifecta with only limited options to block Republicans from enacting their agenda in the new year. 

At the same time, Democrats have the momentous task of figuring out why voters across the country shifted away from the party as Trump made small gains not just in battleground states and red areas but nationwide. 

Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will be on defense as they face a GOP trifecta with only limited options to block Republicans from enacting their agenda in the new year

Many are taking inspiration from Dan Osborn, who ran as an independent in Nebraska against Republican Deb Fischer

Democrats also have to determine their best messaging approach moving forward if they have any hope of recapturing a majority in Congress in the 2026 midterms.

It's one example of how political insiders told DailyMail.com Democratic factions are in a 'knife fight' for control of the Party after the election loss.

The battle lines are now drawn between West Coast liberals, Bernie Sanders-socialists and moderate technocrats in the Midwest, who insist the party has completely lost touch with the average American voter.

But first, there is one thing that all sides seemingly agree on: The current political establishment must be chased out of national politics for good.