India Walton warns progressive Democrats against diluting their political platform to appeal to the establishment. After defeating a four-term incumbent in Buffalo's primary, Walton's shift toward centrist views ultimately led to her loss in the general election. She believes that moderating her leftist message cost her the race and harmed her coalition-building efforts. Walton's experiences serve as a cautionary tale for other progressive candidates, who might be inspired by recent electoral victories but should remain committed to their core principles.
Moderating is what got us here, said Walton, referring to Donald Trump's return to the White House. I believe that moderating is what lost me ultimately the election in 2021.
I pivoted fairly quickly to try and integrate myself into the party, because I thought that was the way to build a broad based coalition, she reflected. It sort of ate away from our message from the inside out.
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