I was a ruthless fundraiser who helped progressives infiltrate the Democratic party until it all became unbearable

Evan Barker believed she was a lifelong Democrat.Born into a Kansas City union family, she campaigned for Barack Obama while still in high school and was a community organizer for Hillary Clinton in 2015.

Working for the consultancy Left Rising, she writes, “I built my name as a ruthless fundraiser … I was a live player who helped progressive insurgents” — including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cori Bush and Jasmine Crockett — “infiltrate from within.” But her new book, “Nothing Left” (Threshold Editions), out today, gives a look at how Barker lost faith in her party — and, in 2024, voted for Donald Trump.In this exclusive excerpt, she reveals one of the moments that showed her how Democrats shamelessly left heartland voters in the dust. On a cold evening in late March of 2022, I realized the weight of what progressives had become was unbearable.

This was my last straw. “We won’t be getting those voters; they’re not coming back — the ones who left and switched to Donald Trump — the future is young people of color!” Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez roared into the microphone. That’s a great way to get Donald Trump re-elected, I thought to myself, feeling annoyed as I looked around at a primarily white and extremely rich crowd, who were clapping at her every word like drunken seals. I was standing in front of Tom Steyer’s mansion in one of the most elite and exclusive neighborhoods of San Francisco.Tom is a billionaire and Democratic mega-donor.

He also ran for president in 2020.I was seven months pregnant, nearing the end of my pregnancy. Cristina, whom I had worked for on her US Senate race in Texas, was now the executive director of Tom Steyer’s organization NextGen America, the most important liberal youth organization in the country.NextGen was the Left’s rival to Turning Point USA.

They hoped to turn out millions of young people to vote, and they had deep pockets to make that happen. The view of the Golden Gate Bridge fro...