Within the Democratic party, from moderates to progressives, there is a spirited debate over the damage the 2024 election has done to the party’s brand. While there’s no denialism akin to what gripped the Republicans after President Trump’s loss in 2020, the Democratic leadership is sharply divided over how to interpret an election that not only returned Mr. Trump to power but also placed Republicans in complete control of the federal government. The rapid imposition of Mr. Trump’s will on the government and the nation has added urgency to the discussions, taking place in closed-door meetings on Capitol Hill, at retreats for donors and strategists, and in the intramural campaign culminating in the upcoming election of the next leader of the Democratic National Committee. Many in the party are calling for a reckoning and a reinvention, but some envision a more wait-and-see approach, hoping to capitalize on the expected backlash against Mr. Trump’s ambitious White House agenda to win back the House of Representatives in 2026. The divide is not strictly along ideological lines; many moderate and progressive Democrats are united in seeking a sharp course correction to reverse the party’s erosion of support, particularly among working-class voters. Representative Pat Ryan, a Democrat representing a swing district north of New York City, stated, ‘We need deep changes and hard conversations, not just tweaking around the edges. At its core, the brand is so weakened that without members challenging it in tough districts, we cannot achieve a majority, which is structurally unsustainable.’
Read from: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/29/us/politics/democratic-party-rebuild.html