Democrats in danger of losing Gen Z voters over latest controversy: analyst

The Democratic National Committee's recent dustup with vice chair David Hogg could be off-putting to the younger generation of voters if they don't tread lightly, according to analysis by CNN.

Anchor Wolf Blitzer introduced a clip of DNC chair Ken Martin Thursday by saying the committee was issuing an ultimatum to Hogg to give up his purported "threat to primary Democrats he deems ineffective, or give up his leadership position."

On the clip, Martin said, "No DNC officer should ever attempt to influence the outcome of a primary election, whether on behalf of an incumbent or a challenger. I have great respect for David Hogg. I think he's an amazing young leader who's done so much already to help move our movement forward. And while...certainly you know, I understand what he's trying to do, as I've said to him, if you want to challenge incumbents, you're more than free to do that, but just not as an officer of the DNC."

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Hogg is an outspoken gun control activist who survived the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, that killed 17 students and staff.

CNN Senior Political Analyst Mark Preston said on Thursday's Situation Room said that Hogg was trying to "infiltrate the Party from the inside and try to enact change that he wants to see. Now, I will say he is going to be very unlucky, I would suspect, in his efforts to do so. But this is going to cause the Democratic National Committee a lot of headache, a lot of heartache, over the next four-and-a half months."

Co-anchor Pamela Brown asked that since Hogg represents this new young generation of Democratic leaders, "is there any risk, concern about pushing him out and hurting the Party's outreach to those younger voters that we know Trump surprisingly did well with in 2024?"

Preston said Martin was obviously being very careful when talking about the situation.

"[Martin] was very effusive about him," Preston said. "The DNC wants to make sure that they put this out there as something that is not about David Hogg — that it is just simply about incumbency. And, as he said, if you want to take on an...incumbent Democrat, then do it from outside the party."

Watch the clip below via CNN or click here.