In New York City, Democratic Socialists have learned to dominate low‑turnout primaries, effectively deciding the mayoral outcome before the broader electorate weighs in. With the centrist camp fragmented and demographically shrinking, a primary win plus a split general electorate can deliver citywide control.
— It spotlights how primary participation and party‑internal rules, not just general elections, can determine who governs big cities and thus where reform energy should focus.
Matt Goodwin
2026.01.16
51% relevant
Goodwin’s piece ties into the repository idea that low‑participation intra‑party processes and targeted organizing can let ideologically intense minorities punch above their weight; the defections increase the chances that internal selection mechanisms and small‑scale activist networks will amplify Reform’s influence in candidate selection and local contests.
Jonny Ball
2026.01.16
72% relevant
The article describes how a small, highly mobilized online insurgent culture and high‑visibility defections (Jenrick joining Reform, Farage staging) can amplify a niche movement into mainstream political influence — the same mechanism the existing idea identifies (small‑turnout/organized minorities controlling nominations and policy). Badenoch’s move to discipline and the threat to the Tory brand map onto that dynamic.
Joseph Burns
2026.01.15
84% relevant
The article documents how Marcantonio used New York’s fusion system and cross‑endorsements to win major nominations and sustained congressional seats, which mirrors the existing idea that internal nomination mechanics and low‑turnout contests let ideological minorities capture office (the same pipeline the existing item warns about in modern primaries). The actors and tools named (Marcantonio, American Labor Party, Wilson–Pakula change) are direct historical analogues to contemporary DSA tactics.
Nate Silver
2026.01.12
76% relevant
The article discusses how Mamdani won a race few expected him to — a dynamic consistent with the existing idea that low‑turnout primaries allow intense, organized factions to pick nominees and thus shape who governs big cities.
2026.01.08
72% relevant
The newsletter’s description of the new far‑left coalition (‘Hipster Tammany Hall’) organizing to run primary challenges matches the existing pattern that low‑turnout primaries allow organized ideological minorities to determine nominations; the article names Zohran Mamdani and describes active recruitment and cross‑state endorsements, which are exactly the tactics highlighted in the existing idea.
Joseph Burns
2026.01.07
90% relevant
The article describes the WFP and allied groups targeting Democratic primaries across jurisdictions to replace more moderate Democrats with challengers (e.g., Nida Allam, Randy Villegas, John Fetterman target). This directly maps onto the existing idea that low‑turnout primaries let well‑organized, ideologically intense groups determine outcomes and thereby shift who governs.
Joel Kotkin
2026.01.05
75% relevant
Kotkin argues the Democratic primary field is dominated by left‑wing and low‑profile candidates (Swalwell, Porter, Steyer, Bonta) and laments the absence of a moderate challenger; that maps directly onto the existing idea that low‑turnout primaries can let ideologues or small factions decide major offices, with outsized policy impacts in big states like California.
Adam Lehodey
2026.01.02
75% relevant
Mamdani’s rise—framed as an upset victory and followed by strong ideological inaugural rhetoric—matches the mechanism where low‑participation nomination contests allow ideologically committed activists to choose candidates who then govern for the few rather than the many.
Damon Linker
2025.12.30
48% relevant
The piece's focus on nominating dynamics and intra‑party competition ties to the existing point that low‑turnout primaries can produce unexpected nominees or amplify idiosyncratic candidacies; Linker’s scenario—an unexpected cross‑coalition candidate like RFK Jr. contending for the GOP nod—depends on those nomination dynamics.
Halina Bennet
2025.12.02
50% relevant
The Slow Boring post treats a low‑attention single‑district special election as a bellwether; that dynamic connects to the existing point that off‑cycle contests (primaries/specials) can produce outsized, nonrepresentative outcomes and thus alter party strategy and elites’ calculus—here evidenced by heavy outside spending (MAGA Inc.'s ~$1.7M) and intense national attention.
2025.12.02
65% relevant
The Portland item argues the far Left is the local establishment because it controls votes, money, and bureaucracy — this is a concrete municipal example of how low‑turnout, organized blocs can capture institutions and shape policy, which the existing idea highlights nationally.
Jonny Ball
2025.12.01
52% relevant
Although this article concerns a breakaway rather than a primary, it illustrates the same dynamic: intra‑party proceduralism, sectarian ritual, and activist networks (SPEW, SWP, etc.) can concentrate influence among small, highly motivated groups — a mechanism that explains how ideologues capture party organs or create splinter ballots that reshape competition.
Tanya Gold
2025.11.29
75% relevant
The article describes a small, intense activist layer (expulsions, security, holiday‑inn rallies) driving Your Party’s internal contest and a fall in public interest (18%→12%), illustrating how low‑participation, organized minorities can determine leadership and direction — the mechanism identified in the existing idea.
Nicole Gelinas
2025.10.05
100% relevant
The article notes DSA 'now dominate low‑turnout primaries' and that June’s primary was the turning point for Mamdani’s rise as the center eroded and opponents failed to coordinate.