What’s next for Democrats?
asserted
What → ’ → Democrats
It’s the question thousands of Democrats, including lawmakers, strategists, pollsters, creators, organizers, staffers and 2028 presidential hopefuls are trying to answer at a three-day gathering in Denver, after a sweeping victory in the 2026 midterm elections.
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thousands → ’ → elections
But the answer remains vague.
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answer → remain → ?
“We must deliver immediate, bold relief during this affordability crisis,” James Talarico, the senator-elect from Texas, said at the “What’s Next” conference on Thursday.
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What → deliver → Thursday
“Now, we’ll have the collective responsibility to really get to work, fighting for an affordable America, working hard to drive down the high cost of … groceries, high cost of gas, high cost of housing,” Hakeem Jeffries, the congressman of New York, said on Friday.
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Jeffries → have → Friday
The consensus is Democrats need to act quickly when they become the majority in January.
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they → need → January
There’s a looming question of whether lawmakers should focus more on accountability and pursuing investigations into the administration or focus on moving legislation forward to make life more affordable for Americans.
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life → ’ → Americans
Rob Sand, the governor-elect of Iowa, told reporters on Thursday he thought the focus should be on delivering tangible economic relief.
“Every time I read, right now, about more investigations of things that have already been reported on in the media, I’m thinking: ‘Why do we need to investigate that?
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we → tell → that
It’s already been reported on.
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It → report → ?
’ Why don’t you do something actually productive or better people’s lives,” Sand said.
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Sand → do → lives
Jamie Raskin, the congressman from Maryland who is expected to lead the House judiciary committee, told reporters he believed lawmakers could do both.
uncertain
lawmakers → expect → both
Chris Van Hollen of Maryland is now challenging Chuck Schumer, the party’s longtime leader, as Senate majority leader.
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Hollen → challenge → leader
“I’m not voting for senator Schumer,” Elissa Slotkin, a senator for Michigan, told reporters on Friday.
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Slotkin → vote → Friday
Yet the mood at the Democrats’ de facto victory party – which was planned months in advance by a new group called Majority Democrats – was mostly celebratory.
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which → plan → group
Attendees reveled in the massive wins in longtime Republican strongholds that handed the party sizable majorities in both chambers of Congress and expanded Democrats’ control of governorships and state legislatures across the country.
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that → revel → country
A six-piece jazz band welcomed attendees to a spacious outdoor plaza on Thursday afternoon.
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band → welcome → afternoon
Attendees hugged and congratulated one another.
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Attendees → hug → one
The plaza was packed with smiling Democrats, some wearing “Talarico for Texas” shirts and “Jamie Ager for Congress” pins, others wore “pay your taxes” hats.
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others → pack → hats
Many of the organizers and strategists are people who joined Democratic groups or campaigns in or after 2016, when Donald Trump was first elected.
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Trump → join → 2016
Multiple attendees described the event like a class reunion.
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attendees → describe → reunion
The crowd was filled with hugs, laughter and selfies of overjoyed organizers who have spent the last decade working toward a Democratic sweep.
“I think it is important to debrief elections, win or lose.
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it → fill → elections
I think we saw the negative ramifications of not properly debriefing an election after 2024,” said Danielle Butterfield, the executive director of Priorities USA, a Democratic-aligned Super Pac.
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Butterfield → think → USA
By 4pm on Friday, alcoholic beverages were flowing and what seemed like an endless stream of happy hours began.
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seemed → flow → hours
Yet, beneath the excitement appeared to be a fear that Democrats would fail to seize the moment.
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Democrats → appear → moment
“We can’t fuck this up,” one Democratic strategist said.
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strategist → fuck → this
Reminders of simmering tensions within the party were present throughout the weekend.
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Reminders → simmer → weekend
Leftist protesters interrupted Jeffries multiple times during his Friday event on the main stage.
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protesters → interrupt → stage
They called him a traitor, accused him of not pushing back enough on the Trump administration and of ignoring younger Democratic voters.
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They → call → voters
Outside of the event venue, a small group of protesters called on Democrats to reject Schumer and elect new leadership.
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group → call → leadership
Another larger group of protesters expressed support for Palestine and denounced billionaires.
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group → express → billionaires
Progressive Democrats, whose presence on the main stage was few and far between at the “What’s Next” conference, have expressed deep frustrations with establishment Democrats.
asserted
What → ’ → Democrats
Throughout the event, some Democrats alluded to those frustrations.
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Democrats → allude → frustrations
Anderson Clayton, the 28-year-old chair of the North Carolina Democratic party, questioned why Democrats had not invested in the South, especially in Black districts where voters cast their ballots for Democrats.
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voters → question → Democrats
“We say that Black voters are the base of our party.
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voters → say → party
Then I ask why are we not investing in a region of the country that on Tuesday night, just proved everybody wrong of what is possible,” Clayton said on Thursday.
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Clayton → ask → Thursday
Aftab Pureval, the mayor of Cincinnati, warned Democrats not to take the recent wins as a sign that the Democratic party was popular.
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party → warn → sign
“Victory has a nasty tendency of clouding our judgment.
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Victory → have → judgment
It turns our eyes inward, tempting us to believe that, we here in this room, saved democracy.
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we → turn → democracy
That the American people finally came around to our way of thinking.
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people → come → thinking
But the truth is, they didn’t come around to us,” Pureval said.
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Pureval → come → us
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
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