On the campaign trail, every Democrat is a "fighter" now

Virtually every Democratic primary candidate this cycle, from the most progressive to the most moderate, wants voters to know one thing: How much of a "fighter" they are.

Why it matters: It is the culmination of a year's worth of https://www.axios.com/2025/07/07/democrats-trump-resistance-violence-congress" target="_blank">liberal grassroots fury over what they see as President Trump's many transgressions and the Democratic establishment's lackluster response.

• In Illinois' 9th House District, all three major candidates — left-wing https://adm0.page.link/vUsj" target="_blank">Kat Abughazaleh, progressive https://adm0.page.link/ugiQ" target="_blank">Daniel Biss and AIPAC-backed https://adm0.page.link/EyXA" target="_blank">Laura Fine — had ads labeling them "fighters" and highlighting confrontations they had with ICE. Biss won the March 17 primary.
• Rep. Christian Menefee (D-Texas) ran an ad called "https://adm0.page.link/XkJC" target="_blank">Fighter," which featured the then-candidate in boxing gloves calling himself a "fighter who stands up and wins" and swatting away Trump and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
• His top opponent in that 18th District race last month, fellow Democrat Amanda Edwards, also ran an ad called "https://adm0.page.link/X24z" target="_blank">Fighter" labeling her "a different kind of fighter — one who delivers for the people" and saying "we need a fighter we can actually trust."

By the numbers: Democratic campaigns and outside groups have run nearly 50 ads as of Thursday featuring the words "fighter" or "fight," backed up by more than $22 million in spending.

• The label has been a fixture of ads run by https://adm0.page.link/RYfx" target="_blank">progressive https://adm0.page.link/skqg" target="_blank">candidates who want to move the party to the left and vow to pressure leadership to take a more combative stance toward the Trump administration.
• But it has also been used by https://adm0.page.link/cD8r" target="_blank">AIPAC-linked PACs to boost more moderate candidates in those same primaries.
• Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), a centrist who ran unsuccessfully for New Jersey governor, ran an https://adm0.page.link/yhf1" target="_blank">ad called "Born Fighter" featuring AI-generated photos of him boxing with Trump.

What to watch: The term is already cropping up in Democrats' next big contest, the May 19 primary in Pennsylvania's 3rd House District, where more than a half dozen Democrats are competing to succeed retiring Rep. https://www.axios.com/2025/06/30/dwight-evans-house-democrats-older-retire" target="_blank">Dwight Evans (D-Pa.).

• Pediatric surgeon and former Biden health official Ala Stanford is a "fighter and a champion," says a https://adm0.page.link/x3bR" target="_blank">new ad funded by 314 Action, a Democratic group that backs candidates with STEM backgrounds.
• "Now's the time for Dr. Ala Stanford to bring her Philly fight direct to Donald Trump," it adds.