Democratic presidential hopefuls, under fierce pressure from liberal activists and base voters, are racing to embrace a series of progressive policy proposals that are quickly emerging as litmus tests ahead of 2020.



At town halls and meet-and-greets in early primary states, the Democrats are being pushed to stake out positions on “Medicare for all” and the Green New Deal, the progressive plan to combat climate change and economic inequality.

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Reparations for the descendants of slaves, the abolishment of the Electoral College and an expansion of the Supreme Court to counter President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE’s nominees are additional issues that until recently would have been on the fringes of Democratic politics.

A number of liberals are cheering the discussion on.

“Democratic primary voters want to win and therefore they’ll demand transformational ideas,” said Adam Green, the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has backed Sen. Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth WarrenHarris joins women's voter mobilization event also featuring Pelosi, Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda Judd Gregg: The Kamala threat — the Californiaization of America GOP set to release controversial Biden report MORE (D-Mass.) in the presidential primary.



Some suggest a failure to back certain proposals could doom them in the primary.

“Part of the reason that we’re seeing so many of these candidates back the Green New Deal, even when they weren’t talking about it in 2018, is because they’re looking at the political weather,” said Stephen O’Hanlon, the communications director for the Sunrise Movement, a climate advocacy organization that has sought to inject the Green New Deal into the 2020 primary as a critical issue.

“It’s a litmus test for Democrats and it’s essential for any candidate who wants to earn the youth vote to show that they’re ready to stand up for our generation’s future,” O’Hanlon said.

At the same time, these new litmus tests have prompted worries that candidates may be setting themselves up for trouble in the 2020 general election, which Trump is already casting as a referendum on socialism.

“Socialism is not about the environment, it’s not about justice, it’s not about virtue. Socialism is about only one thing: It’s called power for the ruling class,” Trump said in a two-hour speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference earlier this month. “All of us are here today because we know that the future does not belong to those who believe in socialism.”

While progressives warn that nominating an establishment-minded centrist candidate would give Trump a clear path to a second term in the White House, former Vice President Joe Biden Joe BidenOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate Trump attacks Omar for criticizing US: 'How did you do where you came from?' MORE — widely viewed as a moderate — leads virtually every early poll of the Democratic primary field despite not yet declaring a campaign.

Several liberal activists and strategists also are dismissive of the suggestion that Medicare for all or the Green New Deal have become litmus tests for Democrats, arguing that they did not expect candidates to unite behind a single piece of legislation or policy prescription.



“I think voters are expressing openness to different ways to get there,” said Navin Nayak, the senior vice president at the Center for American Progress. “I don’t know that there’s a litmus test where if you don’t address a specific policy that it’s a problem.”



There’s little question that headwinds in the party are pushing things to the left, something likely to surface in races for the Senate, where a handful of centrist Democratic challengers will be working to distance themselves from the liberal priorities being debated on the presidential trail.

Democrats are defending only 12 Senate seats in 2020 — a much easier map than that of 2018, when they were scrambling to safeguard 26 seats — but they’re hoping to win control of the upper chamber by picking off Republicans in battleground states where the liberal agenda may prove a liability. One incumbent Democrat, Sen. Doug Jones, will be fighting for his political life in deep-red Alabama.



Hoping to exploit those divisions, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellPelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Senate GOP aims to confirm Trump court pick by Oct. 29: report Trump argues full Supreme Court needed to settle potential election disputes MORE (R-Ky.) has scheduled floor votes on the Green New Deal for next week.

The pressures facing Democrats are less pronounced in the House, where lawmakers are catering to much smaller audiences and the messaging mantra from party leaders remains a simple one: speak to your district.



“All politics is local,” Rep. Cheri Bustos Cheryl (Cheri) Lea BustosThe Hill's Campaign Report: Biden asks if public can trust vaccine from Trump ahead of Election Day | Oklahoma health officials raised red flags before Trump rally DCCC dropping million on voter education program Clark rolls out endorsements in assistant Speaker race MORE (D-Ill.), the head of the Democrats’ campaign arm, told The Hill earlier this month. “If you take care of things at home that's how you can be successful politically.”



Still, the activist wing of the party remains intent on seeking ideological purity in its candidates.

On Thursday, for instance, progressive groups will protest a district office of Rep. Tom O’Halleran (D-Ariz.), a Blue Dog who already has a primary opponent, pressing him to endorse a net neutrality bill.



Republican operatives, meanwhile, have been only happy to join McConnell in highlighting the divisions across the aisle by airing the liberals’ legislative wish list in an effort to brand all Democrats — particularly the vulnerable centrists — as leftist radicals.



“Freedom or socialism — that’s the choice in 2020,” Rep. Tom Emmer Thomas (Tom) Earl EmmerHouse Democrats' campaign arm reserves .6M in ads in competitive districts The Hill's Convention Report: Trump to attack Biden at final night of convention | Speech comes amid hurricane, racial justice protests | Biden accuses Trump of 'rooting' for violence Republicans cast Trump as best choice for women MORE (R-Minn.), head of House Republicans’ campaign arm, said in announcing the 55 Democratic incumbents the GOP is targeting this cycle.



The competing Democratic agendas highlight the balancing act party leaders and campaign strategists are scrambling to execute heading into the crucial 2020 elections.

On one hand, they want to maximize voter turnout by tapping the energy of their liberal base, which is clamoring for the party to embrace ideas like the Green New Deal, Medicare for all, the elimination of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the impeachment of President Trump. On the other, they're fighting to expand their appeal in more conservative regions where those same ideas could alienate voters and damage their chances at the polls.



Democrats won control of the House last year, not in the blue districts, but by picking up GOP-held seats across the country. It's a dynamic noted by more moderate Democrats frustrated with the media’s focus on a handful of high-profile liberal freshmen such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-CortezHouse passes bill to avert shutdown Trump attacks Omar for criticizing US: 'How did you do where you came from?' The Memo: Dems face balancing act on SCOTUS fight MORE (D-N.Y.), a social media superstar who identifies as a democratic socialist.

“Apparently, in the media, the impression is she represents the future — that's the face of our party moving forward,” said one lawmaker, referring to Ocasio-Cortez. “So would it come as a surprise to you to learn that 33 of the 40 seats we picked up are New Dems? They're not progressives. Thirty-three out of 40, it's not even close."



“She represents a safe New York district where she knocked off somebody because it's 50 percent Hispanic,” the lawmaker continued, alluding to Ocasio-Cortez's primary victory over former Rep. Joseph Crowley. “But that ain't how a whole bunch of other people got elected.”

Green, however, refuted that notion, arguing that a number of freshman Democratic lawmakers won in 2018 by campaigning on progressive platforms, like Medicare for All and expanding Social Security.

"Clearly bold economic populism is the way to win in red and purple districts," Green said.

Bustos, who represents a rural district carried by Trump in 2016, acknowledged the potential threats facing moderate Democrats from both the left and the right. But party leaders, she vowed, will rally behind the sitting lawmakers.



"We're an incumbent-friendly organization here,” she said.

--Updated at 9:57 a.m.