When centrist Democrats gathered at a closed-door retreat in Loudoun County, Virginia, last month, the message was blunt: the party’s far-left turn is costing elections.

Organized by the center-left group Third Way, the retreat drew several dozen Democratic operatives, elected officials, and strategists who blamed the 2024 election losses on identity politics, far-left staffers, and ideological purity tests. A five-page memo summarizing the meeting, obtained by POLITICO, offered a stark warning — and a path forward centered on reconnecting with the working class.

“To win back the trust of the working class,” the memo reads, Democrats must “reduce far-left influence and infrastructure,” reject rigid progressive litmus tests, and stop allowing far-left activists to control the party’s message.

Matt Bennett of Third Way, who helped organize the February retreat, said the stakes were clear. “The things that the left was doing and saying deeply hurt [Kamala] Harris and down-ballot Democrats,” he said. “People are looking to us and saying, ‘We got to do it your way, because the other way ain’t working.’”

The memo outlined 20 key reforms, including:

• Embracing patriotism and traditional American imagery.
• Leaving elite circles and engaging with voters in real communities — gun shows, tailgates, local diners, and churches.
• Acknowledging failures of Democratic governance in cities and vowing to fix them.
• Creating a more relatable media presence through podcasts, social content, and sports platforms.

Bennett admitted the party hasn’t yet nailed down its economic message. “We were still kind of picking through the rubble here,” he said. The problem, he added, is the disconnect between how Democrats talk about the economy and how voters actually experience it. (RELATED: Meet the Contenders in Virginia’s House District 65 Race)

But if moderates are ready to lead, others in the party continue to double down on leftist ideology — including Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a 2025 gubernatorial candidate often mislabeled as a centrist.

Spanberger’s record tells a different story. During Women’s History Month, she prioritized promoting “Trans Visibility Day” — a move many women see as a betrayal, especially as biological males displace girls in sports and scholarships.

Spanberger has consistently voted for policies that undermine women’s rights, including support for anti-woman sex discrimination that violates Title IX. Her broader voting record reflects extreme partisanship. She holds a 5% lifetime score from Heritage Action for America — a far cry from the already low 10% average for House Democrats.

While moderates like Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin are being elevated by the party — she delivered Democrats’ response to Trump’s address and outperformed Kamala Harris across Michigan — others like Spanberger reveal just how much the party still struggles to shed its far-left image.