"The Democrats Need a Candidate Shake-Up" [View all]

We may owe many thanks to Daniel Moraff, the man behind the curtain. Until I read this article, I didn't know who approached Graham to run.

"You’ve probably never heard of Daniel Moraff. He went to Brown and was excited by Senator Bernie Sanders’s 2016 presidential campaign and spent years as a local organizer in Pittsburgh and New York while involved with the Democratic Socialists of America.

Today he’s emerging as a new force in politics specializing in populist outsiders. He discovered Dan Osborn and Graham Platner, showing a knack for finding unlikely politicians with real charisma and skills. As we now know, Mr. Platner also comes with a somewhat checkered past and real, potentially costly flaws.

But Mr. Moraff, in contrast to his somewhat bombastic candidates, is quiet and unassuming in person and approaches his job like a casting director. He looks for a particular type: military veterans with blue-collar jobs and no electoral experience but an interest in politics and (typically) labor unions.

Mr. Moraff is not the only person seeking fresh blood for the Democratic Party. Other groups, like the Bench, are recruiting and supporting challengers in tough races, often in red states. But his early success is a sign of just how desperately the Democrats need new approaches to candidate recruitment — and new kinds of candidates.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/17/opinion/democrats-platner-osborn-daniel-moraff.html?unlocked_article_code=1.rFA.ydvq.qyLUePJRvCWA&smid=url-share