The Billionaire Building Democrats’ New Machine | Lever Time

Earlier this month, a new Democratic machine scored a major victory in Connecticut. First-time congressional candidate Luke Bronin won his Democratic primary by a landslide, ousting 14-term progressive incumbent Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.). Bronin’s win is part of a larger, national push — funded by a secretive hedge fund manager — to elect more establishment-aligned Democrats. Who is this man pouring his millions into the fight? Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with Lever reporters Katya Schwenk and Luke Goldstein to unmask the man behind the machine. They discuss Schwenk and Goldstein’s recent hit article exploring how one billionaire Democratic donor is attempting to handpick corporate-friendly candidates and crush their most progressive opponents in this year’s midterms. You can check out more of Katya Schwenk and Luke Goldstein’s reporting here at levernews.com. CHAPTER MARKERS 00:00 Bronin's Landslide In Connecticut 01:10 Who Is Stephen Mandel? 02:28 The Bench And Majority Democrats 04:26 The Hedge Fund Billionaire Nobody Knows 07:11 Data Centers And The McMorrow Playbook 10:21 Return On Investment Or True Believer? 12:01 Building A New Corporate Wing 14:20 The Gerontocracy Argument 17:22 Markey, Moulton And The Massachusetts Race 18:02 VoteVets And The Swipe Fee Lobby 19:54 A Trial Run For 2028 25:09 What If Their Candidates Lose? 30:51 The McGovern Cautionary Tale 32:24 Credits 🔔 Subscribe to The Lever for more independent investigative journalism