A former Bernie Sanders operative is sounding the alarm over what the Democratic Party has become, warning that the far left has "overtaken" the party from within."Part of the reason it's been overtaken is because the establishment tried really hard in 2020 to block us, and in 2019, after AOC won, they did a blacklist and that actually backfired on them, and it made the far left grow stronger," Evan Barker told "Jesse Watters Primetime."Barker, who raised money for Democratic candidates throughout her career before deciding to vote for Trump in 2024, argued that the Democratic establishment's efforts to contain its insurgent flank ultimately backfired, pushing activists to build their own political infrastructure — from training one another to recruiting donors, including billionaires.EX-DEM OPERATIVE DETAILS 'NEW DONOR ESTABLISHMENT' BEHIND MAMDANI-ERA PROGRESSIVES: 'NOT FROM THE GRASSROOTS'Rep.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, left; Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, center; Sen.
Bernie Sanders, right.(Andrew Roth/Reuters)The result, Barker argued, is a party increasingly influenced from the inside by its activist base, donors and staffers, some of whom she says are considerably further left than the politicians they work for."I think they've kind of been captured from all sides.
They have these hyper-left-leaning donors coupled with the staff that's been radicalized and the base," she said.Barker said she has watched that shift play out even within the movement she once joined, pointing to Sanders' positions on issues including guns and immigration."I've seen him kind of be dragged further and further to the left by what he views as his message bearers, people like AOC and Ilhan Omar and now Abdul El-Sayed," she added.DEMS' LEFTWARD LURCH GETS LEGS AS EL-SAYED'S MICHIGAN SENATE VICTORY SPARKS PARTY DEBATEItems on a table during an election night party held by the Democratic Socialists of America Los Angeles chapter at The Greyhound on Nov.4, 2025, in Los Ange...