This sub hates the following message. That's why it comes today instead of yesterday.
Focus on loyalty to ideology, not party affiliation. Left ideology has been most consistently expressed by the Green Party platform (Sanders watered it down, twice). They've lots of problems. But, they're incredibly loyal to the platform.
If the Green Party gets 5% of the general election vote then they'll be on every ballot in '28. The Democrats can't silence the platform choice in primaries as they did twice to Sanders. This would place an incredible amount of pressure on Democrats immediately and be passively sustained for four years.
In a purple state I'd vote Democrat POTUS for harm reduction. In a blue state it'd depend on the situation. But, in a red state, I risk absolutely nothing by not for voting harm reduction.
We're the only ones completely free to act for the long term. The blue wave thinks we're too stupid to understand nuance. Political parties don't deserve your loyalty. We need be loyal to each other, especially when we're hated for our choices.
Both of you should be asking how your vote could be made meaningful outside the scope of your current evaluation.