Fresh from a midterm election landslide, Democrats met in Denver this week united in wanting to deliver voters relief from high costs, but split over how to achieve that, what lessons to draw from their victory and how combative they should be towards President Donald Trump.
Despite the celebratory mood after the November 3 rout of Republicans, tensions between moderates and a restive progressive wing surfaced at the party’s first major gathering since its victory, along with anxiety that the party could squander the opportunity voters had handed it.
The gathering offered an early glimpse of the battle to define its future as prospective 2028 presidential candidates and senior leaders debated how to turn electoral success into a governing agenda while navigating long-standing ideological and generational divides.
The conference, hosted by Majority Democrats, a group that advocates for younger party leaders and against left-wing activism, offered a forum for the jockeying now underway as Democrats debate what lessons to draw from their midterm win and begin the search for a 2028 White House standard-bearer.
Speakers disagreed over whether to embrace a bolder progressive agenda or tack towards the centre, exposing competing approaches to lowering food, healthcare and housing costs, while working alongside Trump, who retains veto power for two more years.
California Representative Ro Khanna, a progressive and potential presidential candidate, urged Democrats to stop chasing the political centre and embrace a bolder agenda, including universal healthcare, a wealth tax, a $25 federal minimum wage, deep Pentagon cuts and abolishing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
By contrast, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a moderate and another potential 2028 contender, argued the party should move beyond ideological litmus tests, saying voters “don’t give a damn” about such debates and care instead about whether Democrats can deliver results.
The breadth of the Democratic victories has allowed moderates and progressives to argue that voters have endorsed their vision for the party’s future. “It’s to be expected that there will be a big debate because the Democratic victory was so broad it swept in centrists, southern Democrats and more progressive and left-wing Democrats,” Democratic strategist Elaine Kamarck told Reuters.
Trump retains significant executive authority to block much of the Democrats’ agenda, complicating the party’s efforts to lower costs, the central issue voters gave Democrats control of Congress to fix. One of the most striking debates in Denver centred on how to govern with Trump still in the White House.
James Talarico, the first Democrat elected to the US Senate from Texas since 1988, urged Democrats to work with Trump.
“We should make the final two years of his presidency the most productive of any presidency in American history,” Talarico said, drawing tepid applause. “We’re tired of being pitted against each other.”
