Ousted House Democrat warns party against embracing 'socialist-type' policies

Oregon Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader warned this week that his party risked surrendering the middle ground to Republicans and losing support from moderate voters should it continue to embrace "socialist-type" policies.

"We’re leaving the center wide open for Republicans," he told the Washington Post this week. Schrader will depart the House of Representatives at the end of his current term following a primary defeat from progressive Jamie McLeod-Skinner, who in turn lost to Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

Schrader had served since 2009 as the representative for Oregon's 5th District, which had been represented by Republican in Congress since 1997. The district was one of the handful of Republican pickups that led to the GOP reclaiming control of the House of Representatives in the midterms.

Schrader claimed that the Democratic party needed to reexamine its current approach or risk losing more seats to the GOP.

"It’s always the Republicans’ fault. We’re just not introspective at all," he told the Post. "My seat is example one."

The Oregon Democrat earlier this year expressed concerns that the party's leftward leap was leaving him behind and making him less comfortable in the caucus.

"I think the Democratic Party has moved quite a bit to the left, moving out from underneath me," Schrader said, according to the Washington Examiner. "The socialist wing of the party is taking over, and that’s their opportunity to elect somebody different."