The Race to Become the Democratic Left’s Next Power Firm

Middle Seat, formed a decade ago by Bernie Sanders campaign veterans, is riding a wave of shocking wins from Democratic socialists to prominence.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani celebrates with Democratic congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier

This year’s midterms, and the Democratic civil war taking place in the primaries before them, are serving as a proving ground for the strategists angling to catch the eye of the dozens of potential candidates looking at a presidential run. Seth Wenig/AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Behind a string of recent leftist victories in Democratic primaries across the country is a growing ecosystem of progressive media consulting firms and strategists positioning themselves ahead of a wide-open 2028 presidential cycle.

One of those firms, Middle Seat, has quietly racked up a string of victories by working with what have turned out to be some of the highest-profile names to come out of this year’s primaries.

Among the group’s clients are three democratic socialists fresh to the national political scene: Melat Kiros, who shocked the party by defeating a 15-term incumbent in a primary for a Denver-area House seat; Darializa Avila Chevalier, who defeated the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in New York; and Mai Vang, a progressive Sacramento city official challenging a 20-year Democratic incumbent in this fall’s general election.