On Wednesday evening, David Hogg — a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee and a prominent anti-gun violence activist — emphasized that the Democratic Party must grow stronger to push back against the Trump administration, at a lecture event hosted by Brown Democrats in the Salomon Center.
After surviving the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Hogg helped co-found March For Our Lives, a youth-led mobilization effort to end gun violence across the United States. In 2023, Hogg graduated from Harvard and co-founded Leaders We Deserve, a grassroots organization that supports young, progressive candidates in congressional and state legislative elections.
This past February, he was elected as a vice chair of the DNC
Throughout the lecture, Hogg outlined his perspective on the Democratic Party’s current failure to “meet the moment” in opposing the Trump administration. He explained that the party is at a “fork in the road” in terms of standing up to the president.
Over the past several months, the Democratic Party has faced criticism for not taking a more active stance against the Trump administration and the party’s approval rating sits at a dismal 29%, according to CNN.
“We have to show that we’re giving people something to vote for and not just somebody to vote against,” Hogg said. “We can’t just be the party that is not Donald Trump.”
Part of Hogg’s vision to rebuild the Democratic Party involves Leaders We Deserve, he explained. The organization recently committed to contributing $20 million in funding to newer Democratic candidates in comfortably blue districts in the upcoming primary elections.
Hogg emphasized that he does not plan to invest in frontline races in swing states. Rather, he wants to focus on safe districts where Democrats are not at risk of losing seats.
“There are some leaders that are meeting the moment, but there are far too many that are failing to meet it,” he said. “Our country is in crisis and we cannot afford to let that happen.”
While Hogg noted that some party members have criticized his efforts to challenge incumbents, he explained that primaries are a “healthy” democratic process intended to “ensure that we have the best Democrats possible.”
In Hogg’s opinion, strengthening the Democratic Party is also essential for mitigating gun violence. He explained that some of the contributing causes of mass shootings are food insecurity, unemployment and other issues that progressive Democratic policies often address.
“If we build the strongest Democratic Party possible, we can ensure that nobody in this country feels the need to pick up a gun to solve their problems,” he said.
After Hogg’s lecture on Wednesday, Mahir Rahman ’26, president of Brown Dems and the moderator of the event, said that he hopes that students will see the potential for increased progressive advocacy.
“I remember hearing about David Hogg when I was 13,” Rahman said in an interview with The Herald. “Being able to moderate this conversation, seven years later, is super exciting.”
Zoe Weissman ’28, a member of Brown’s Students Demand Action, a student group that organizes against gun violence, shared how she appreciated hearing from someone who “was such a public face for so long.”
“Gun violence is an issue that gets pushed into the back of people’s minds when more pressing issues come up,” she added. “I think it’s a really important thing to bring back to the forefront of our minds.”
For Erin Ozyurek ’27, the main takeaway from the talk was that “youth engagement is where the future of the party is.” But she expressed hesitancy about whether Leaders We Deserve should prioritize supporting candidates in strictly blue districts over attempting to flip red seats, emphasizing the importance of increasing the overall number of Democratic seats in Congress.
Hogg is also the recipient of Brown Dems’ annual John F. Kennedy Jr. ’83 Award for Inspiring Youth in Public Service.
Since 2005, Brown Dems’ leadership has selected a JFK Jr. award recipient who has “motivated political opportunity, turnout and involvement among young people,” Rahman explained.
Rahman added that Brown Dems selected Hogg as this year’s recipient for the award because of his continued advocacy “for young people and progressive movements.”
