Morning Wire - Leftist Campaigner Turned Trump Voter

Episode Date: August 9, 2026

Former Democratic campaign operative Evan Barker joins Morning Wire to reveal what she saw behind the scenes as the Democratic Party shifted further left. In her new book, Nothing Left, Barker details her experience working in Democratic politics, the rise of democratic socialism within the party, and the growing divide between its grassroots activists and establishment leaders — ultimately explaining why she left the left and became a Trump voter. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.- - -Ep. 3029- - -Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3- - -Today's Sponsors:Alliance Defending Freedom - For a limited time, every dollar you give to ADF will be MATCHED but only while matching funds last. Go to https://JoinADF.com/WIRE or text WIRE to 83848 to have your gift to ADF doubled. Homeserve - ACT NOW and get protected with a plan through HomeServe. For 50% less your first year, go to https://HomeServe.com/morningwire to find the plan that’s right for you.- - -Privacy Policy: https://www.dailywire.com/privacymorning wire,morning wire podcast,the morning wire podcast,Georgia Howe,John Bickley,daily wire podcast,podcast,news podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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in about 30 minutes in ideal conditions. Plus, ample ground clearance and symmetrical all-wheel drive make the 2026 trail seeker the most capable EV Subaru has ever built. Test drive it at your local Subaru dealer or visit Subaru.ca. I started to see over time, I thought that it was the Democratic establishment that was out of touch. But the progressives were even more out of touch. The rise of the Democratic Socialists within the Democratic Party has shaken both loyal party members and establishment power players. In this episode, we speak to a former Democrat campaign operator about her experience behind the scenes, watching the party change, and why she decided to leave. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley. And this is a weekend episode of Morning Wire.

Joining us now is author of Nothing Left, Confessions of a Democrat operative, Evan Barker. Evan, thanks for coming on. Thank you so much for having me. It's great to be here. So you formerly worked as an operative for a progressive Democratic fundraising outfit, and you've now pivoted and you've captured the experience of working in that organization in your new book. First, can you tell us about the experience that led you to write this book? Oh, boy. Where do I even begin? So I actually got started in politics back in 2008. I was only a senior in high school.

And, you know, I have a preexisting genetic lung disease similar to cystic fibrosis. So healthcare access back then, you know, it could be a real problem for people like me. And so I started working for Barack Obama. I also grew up in a, you know, Midwestern Democratic Union family. And so a lot of my relatives back then, you know, just they. supported Democrats. You know, nowadays, most of them have drifted over to the right, actually. But, you know, so that's kind of how I got started. And then after college, Donald Trump was elected to be president of the United States. And so I was kind of reactivated by his presidency.

And so I ended up working on some establishment races on the East Coast, kind of got disillusioned with the Democratic establishment as well. They just didn't seem to really stand for much other than opposing Donald Trump. They kind of talked about abortion a lot and just sort of like resisting. And at that time, you know, that wasn't really what was speaking to me. And so I ended up moving back to Kansas back home. And I ended up finding a progressive labor lawyer there who was endorsed by Bernie and AOC. So I was actually there the day that AOC and Bernie Sanders first ever met. I was with them because they came, I know it's crazy. I didn't realize what I was witnessing at the time, you guys.

But, you know, so I kind of got sucked up into the whole progressive world, you know, then kind of used that campaign as a launching pad into national progressive campaigns, ended up visiting AOC's office, went out to see Amar Campanajar, who just ran again the cycle out in California, and then finally landed at Left Rising, which was kind of like the secret weapon of the far left. They were behind Ilhan Omar, Corey Bush, Jamal Bowman, Abdul Al-Sayed. I actually worked for him too. And, you know, I started to see over time, I thought that it was the Democratic establishment that was out of touch. But the progressives were even more out of touch. And they championed these crazy far-left views that just completely turned me off and turned off

people in my family. And so, you know, once I kind of figured out what they were all about, in 2022, I ended up kind of just resigning from my job. And I became a mom that year as well and had a little baby boy and just took a couple of years to just be a mom, focus on my son, which was so refreshing after working for the far left,

and then got re-energized when I saw that crazy debate with Joe Biden and Donald Trump that I'm sure you guys saw too. And that might sound funny that I might remember that. Oh, yeah, I think all of us do except for Joe, right?

Yeah. And so I wanted to go to the DNC because it excited me. I was like, maybe they're going to hold an open convention. Maybe we'll find out what they really believe in. It's like a chance for them to remake themselves. And instead, when I got there, you guys, I just saw the coronation of Kamala Harris, people shouting out joy. It was a brat summer. They were completely ignoring the economic pain that people like my mom were feeling in the middle of the country. And so on day three, I ended up leaving. leaving. And I went home and I posted a video thinking that it would be my resignation letter

to 40 followers. And I woke up and the next day it had millions of views to my surprise. I know. It's crazy. And so since then, I've just, I've just been telling my story and, you know, that's what this book is. So what were some of the key grievances that you highlighted in this clearly very viral video? Like, what were the issues that were just final straws for you? I want to tell you about my friends at Alliance Defending Freedom. ADF is dedicated to protecting free speech, religious freedom, the sanctity of life, parental rights, and God's design for males and females.

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homeserve.com slash morningwire and find a plan that's right for you. That's homeserve.com slash morning wire for 50% less. Savings compared to renewal price, void in Florida. So it's interesting. In that actual video, I didn't quite, I highlighted grievances, but I didn't quite go all the way because I was still kind of afraid at that point to go up too much against them. And, but I talk about in the book, so, you know, in the summer of 2020, you guys remember the country was on fire. And I was actually handed a new client by my boss. It was a criminal justice reform group headed by this guy named Sean King. I don't know if you're familiar with him. Yes. I know. And that's kind of, that was the beginning of it for me. It's just kind of like

seeing the way that people spoke about white people and, you know, just like behind the scenes. It just felt very ugly at times. And then, you know, you know, moving forward into 2020 and just kind of like the full on insanity, you know, I don't know if people realized, but it wasn't just the activists that were dragging the party to the left. It was the donors, too. I mean, George Soros's organization actually put out a directive during that time. This isn't public. I wrote this in my book. That they would only fund organizations led by non-white people for five years. So this had a systemic impact on the leadership class in the Democratic Party. I saw people get passed over for jobs.

You know, I wasn't allowed to correct women of color. I was fired, you guys. I was fired by a client for correcting her about a fundraising strategy because I did it on the day of the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict. What? You didn't know. No corrections on that day. No corrections on that day. I was, I mean, it was just, it's crazy. Part of my job as a fundraising consultant was to give feedback and advice. And I think, you know, this particular candidate, she was a Justice Democrats-backed candidate. And she, you know, she didn't want to call a donor list that I had sent her. And so I just pushed back and I was like, I think it's really important that we call them, you know, because they're donors that you need.

And then, you know, my boss and everyone was like, oh, my God, like, do you realize what you did? The verdict was just handed down. She's going to be in a horrible headspace. Like, you know, you can't do stuff like this, Evan. You can't. And it was just that. It was like death by a thousand cuts. It was just constant. So you can maybe speak to this. It sounds like health care was an issue for you. What were the appealing issues that made you feel activated? What were the things that you were excited to promote that you feel didn't work out? Yeah. So back. then, especially, you know, Obamacare, it did really help people like me with preexisting conditions. It did. I know there's a lot of problems with Obamacare in general, but it did do that one really

good thing. And so, you know, I felt like though the progressives offered the solution that at that time, that the establishment didn't, and that I thought that Medicare for all was the way to go. At this point, I no longer support Medicare for all. I don't want a system like in Canada because I know people in Canada who have my condition and they're not able to get the same treatments that I get in the U.S. unfortunately. So it was health care. It was unions. You know, I grew up in a union family. I was a big supporter of unions.

It was more economic issues. And I think what I saw is that the Democratic Party kind of traded all of that stuff out. You know, I thought that they helped working class people like those in my family, you know. They kind of pushed all of those things. aside and they just went with the culture wars. And I know they like to blame you guys for the culture wars. They like to say that it's the right that is perpetuating the culture wars. But what I hope that people take away from my book is that it was actually the Democrats themselves that created the mess, the monster that they're in. And that they're still in, quite frankly,

if you look at this new DSA squad iteration, I mean, they're as far as far left as ever. They haven't learned any of the lessons. Now, speaking of your book, what are some of the surprising takeaways that people will find in there that you think would maybe shock them from behind the scenes? I mean, there was just so much pressure from donors. I mean, there was one time when we called a donor, and I was with a candidate. We called this donor, and her voicemail literally says, if you are not a woman of color, please don't bother leaving a message. I won't donate to you. Like it was that pervasive, you guys. I mean, the book is actually pretty funny. There's like, like now it's kind of like a dark comedy, but there's just, you know, there was one progressive

politician. She ended up going on a, like a hallucin engine trip to sort of like heal herself from the wounds of evil white people and to heal herself from her white ancestry. I mean, like really crazy stuff, you guys. Like this is, it's even more insane behind closed doors than people actually realize. Just the self-flagellation from men especially, I think the progressive wing of the party especially is just dominated by women. And like, I'm a woman. You know, I don't have a problem with women, you know, working or anything. But, you know, like that. But it's just, it's so much so, and there's just so much bashing of men behind the scenes that even men themselves have to participate, even if they're confiding into me, you know,

offline or on the phone that they think it's stupid, I would then see them hop onto a Zoom call and say their pronouns and say something to bash their own gender. And it was just like, it was like the daily... It sounds like a blast. This sounds like a great time. I mean, maybe for you guys, But it was like hell for me. It was like my Democratic DEI nightmare. That's how I describe it now. So obviously you're making appearances on Daily Wire shows. Where do you find yourself now on the political spectrum? Do you find yourself a lot of people say they're homeless? Or would you say you're more right-leaning at this point? I feel politically homeless. I did vote for Donald Trump in 2024. But, you know, I consider myself an independent. I could vote for a Democrat. I could if there's like a normal Democrat. I could. But I could also vote for a Republican. You know, I think I lean like left of center on economics and right of center on social issues probably, which I think. So you're a voice they need to listen to. I am, but they're ignoring me. Can you believe it? I am not surprised. Yeah, not surprised.

Evan, thank you so much for coming on. This sounds like a really entertaining book. Thank you. I hope you guys check it out. It's called Nothing Left. Thank you so much. That was author and former Democrat campaign operator Evan Barker, and this has been a weekend edition of Morning Wire.

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