Activist David Hogg and the organization he founded, Leaders We Deserve, have vowed to shake up the Democratic Party's establishment through money and attention on a new slate of liberal candidates, but the group has made little progress so far toward its goals, according to a new report. 

Hogg, who became nationally known after leading gun violence protests in the wake of the 2018 shootings at his high school in Parkland, Florida, has since turned his attention to Democratic Party politics, founding the Leaders organization in 2023 and announcing this year that the group would raise $20 million to challenge incumbent Democrats. 

But critics in the party say the plan is a waste of money that will end up hurting other candidates and have labeled Hogg's efforts for party change as self-promotion, reported The Washington Post.

Hogg recently lost his leadership role in the Democratic National Committee, which voted to oust him as vice chair in June. And three months after he announced the $20 million plan to challenge incumbents, none of the candidates his group has endorsed have been against an incumbent. 

The Leaders group endorsements so far have resulted in just one primary win, with Zohran Mamdani taking the New York City mayoral primary.

Further, Federal Election Commission data shows that the group devoted 31% of its spending in the 2024 cycle to supporting candidates, but spent a significant amount of money promoting itself. 

And since the April pledge to spend $20 million on supporting candidates, 18% of the $2.5 million spent has gone toward the hopefuls, reported the Post. 

The FEC review said that spending records are typical for such groups, but Democrat critics say they're concerned that Leaders We Deserve and its spending records point to a larger problem: tapping a fundraising pool that is limited while risking the party's candidates. 

Hogg said the goal of the group isn't just to "throw money at candidates and hope they win" but to spend on recruitment while helping candidates through the campaigns. 

"On top of that, we're making major investments into our grassroots donor network and capacity ahead of the election year," he said, adding that his group is helping other 2026 candidates who are "launching their campaigns very soon."

New York state Sen. James Skoufis, 37, who ran for DNC chairman this year, said that Hogg, and not the mission, is "front and center" for Leaders We Deserve. 

"Much of this money seems to be going toward self-promotion,” said Skoufis. "It's not what we need right now as a Democratic Party."

At least one candidate, Irene Shin, who is running for Congress, had initially been backed by Leaders We Deserve, which endorsed her in her race for the Virginia seat and pledged privately to spend $400,000 for her race. 

But days later, the group backed out of the financial commitment, with some close to Shin saying the withdrawal drew a blow to the campaign. 

The money was to have been spent on targeted advertisements and mailers, but the decision was made before the Leaders internal polling found she was trailing Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw. When they found she couldn't win, the plan was scrapped. 

Walkinshaw won almost 60% of the vote in the 10-person primary, with Shin placing second at 14%. 

Hogg, meanwhile, said that his group can "only endorse a very select number of people, so that we can prioritize their race and try to be as impactful as we can."

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