"Washington is broken": Democrats running for office turn sharply against their own party

Democrats are adopting a drastically more negative tone toward their own party in the 2026 midterm elections, swapping promises of bipartisan collaboration with vows to "take on corruption in both parties."Why it matters: This surge in political friendly fire reflects the extraordinary level of anger candidates are seeing from their voters toward the Democratic Party and the national political establishment.Sam Forstag, a House candidate in Montana, told Axios in an interview that "a whole lot of my coworkers got a sour look on their face" when he revealed he was running as a Democrat."We have heard pretty loud and clear, whether it's at our town halls or on parade routes, that ... there's just a growing frustration with both political parties," said Jake Johnson, a Democratic candidate in Minnesota.Data: AdImpact; Note: Party totals include independents running as the de facto nominee; Chart: Andrew Solender/AxiosBy the numbers: An Axios analysis of more than 350 ads in federal and statewide elections since 2018 found a huge uptick in Democratic ads mentioning either the Democratic Party or both parties in a negative context.The analysis looked at ads run between Aug. 24 and Sept. 22 of each election year that used phrases such as "my own party," "both parties," and "party leaders."Candidates often try to appeal to swing voters by pitching themselves as bipartisan problem solvers, pointing out past instances of collaboration or making pledges to work across the aisle if elected.But Democrats have leaned hard into more populist, anti-establishment rhetoric this year, with ads denouncing a broken political system or citing past instances in which they defied their party."I didn't care that he was a Democrat or the pressure that I got to make it go away," Virginia Democrat Shannon Taylor says in one ad about the prosecution of former state Sen. Joe Morrissey.Randy Villegas, a Democratic candidate in California, declares in one of his ads: "Washington is broken because corrupt politicians in both parties care more about their donors and their party bosses than us.""I'll stand up to anyone, Democrat or Republican, who isn't focused on what's right for them," vows Blake Gendebien, a Democrat in upstate New York.Even the House Democratic campaign arm is getting in on the action, running a coordinated ad with Michigan Democrat Christina Hines in which the former SVU prosecutor recounts how she "cleaned up messes when I put away predators, pedophiles, and murderers.""I didn't care if they were Republican or Democrat," she says in the spot, adding that "right now, D.C. is the biggest mess of all."Says Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) in an ad: "Washington's not just broken, it's deeply corrupt, and both parties need to shape up."Between the lines: Axios identified 47 ads run by Democrats or independents running as the de facto Democratic nominee in the last 30 days with that type of negative messaging, up from 19 in 2024 and 2022, 15 in 2020, and 14 in 2018.Dem