The Democratic Party finds itself in a leadership vacuum. The 2024 presidential election was a devastating loss that brought Donald Trump back to the White House, Republicans in control of both chambers of Congress, and the Supreme Court solidly conservative. Having no clear frontrunner for 2028 and no unified message for the midterms, the question of who might fill the void looms large for Democrats.
“We need a leader. But even more than that, we need a vision for the future that transcends the politics of Donald J. Trump,” said Holly Page, the former executive vice president of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC). “Start talking about ideas that nobody else is talking about yet and change the playing field.” She emphasizes that there is no “black and white answer to leadership” in the Democratic Party.
The party is grappling with a diminishing voter base. According to a Yale Youth Poll, young voters have become increasingly disengaged from the party. Voters aged 18-21 favored the Republican Party by a margin of 11.7 points. Additionally, states like California and New York, longstanding Democratic strongholds, each lost an electoral vote following the 2020 Census, while Republican-leaning Texas gained two.
For much of the 20th century, the Democratic Party was the political home of the American working class. This has shifted. In light of this change, Page is particularly concerned about how the party is increasingly alienating white men—a group that once formed a substantial part of its base.
Page referred to an aspect of Harris’ campaign that she saw on the Democratic Party’s official website’s “Who We Serve page.” The page is no longer available; however, it previously displayed groups that the party stood for, including Americans with disabilities, the LGBTQ+ community, and women. Page said the website gave her the impression that the party supported every identity except white men.
As a mother of two boys, Page understood the need to empower women and other groups, but she warns against creating an “either-or” in the party.
“It’s not like you can just talk to women; women have sons and husbands and brothers,” she said. “The identity politics route is just a loser for Democrats.”
Being out of touch with voters has been an issue for the Democrats in the past. The party experienced a prolonged crisis in the 1980s after three successive, landslide presidential defeats in 1980, 1984, and 1988. The party continued to drift away from its traditional ties to organized labor, losing many white working-class voters to the Republican Party under President Ronald Reagan. Page said the DLC was formed in the mid-1980s to shift the party toward a new identity.
To address these challenges, Page believed today’s Democrats need more opposing voices willing to challenge the status quo within the party. Drawing a parallel to the DLC’s efforts in the 1980s, Page argued that the party needs to be fundamentally reevaluated.
“What we need more than anything else is not just a central figure, but a strong communicator who will challenge the left and the dominant ideology embraced by the party right now,” said Page.
Page’s own political journey reflected some of the party’s tensions. Raised in California, dominated by Reagan Republicans, she later became an East Coast Democrat during Bill Clinton’s presidency. She worked on Clinton’s first presidential campaign and admired his focus on equality of opportunity, which he believed required strong private-sector growth.
“Clinton brought new ideas into the party,” Page said. “He was different from the Democrats who came before him. He incorporated conservative viewpoints and used persuasion as his tactic to win elections.”
Page pointed to Donald Trump as a leading example of how even controversial ideas can fuel political success.
“He showed up with ideas. I may not like any of them, but he has his ideas and he’s driving that train,” she said. “Somebody with a few ideas, even if they’re bad, always beats somebody without any.”
Page also cited Zohran Mamdani, the leading candidate in the 2025 New York City mayoral race, as a figure who embodies both the potential and pitfalls of the current Democratic ideology.
Mamdani has gained notoriety for his unconventional proposals. In particular, Page referenced the creation of city-owned grocery stores aimed at addressing food deserts in underserved neighborhoods. While some praise these policies as creative and responsive to everyday concerns, others view them as economically unfeasible.
“They are creative. They are interesting. They are new. They are talking to people about what really concerns them every day,” Page said. “Mamdani is showing up with big ideas. I don’t like any of them, but I think that he is a testament to what I’m talking about.”
Mamdani’s platform highlights the challenges Democrats face in balancing a broad coalition—from progressive activists to moderate voters.
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Matt Duss, a former foreign policy advisor for Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), sees a similar success in Zohran Mamdami’s strategy. He praised Mamdani’s focus on issues such as the cost of living, food insecurity, rent, and “the things that are much more front and center for all Americans.” Duss views this issue-driven approach as a “winning message” that could benefit Democrats both in the upcoming midterm elections and the 2028 presidential race.
Still, Duss acknowledged that New York’s mayoral race can not be a model for the whole country. Overall, Duss said that Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) are the front-running figures leading the Democratic Party today. Sanders is officially an independent but has aligned with the Democrats for the majority of his time in Congress.
He emphasized that Sanders is addressing the weakness of previous Democratic campaigns. In 2024, Harris’ campaign ran on a pro-democratic platform. Duss noted that Harris defended “a set of institutions in which Americans no longer have faith.” While Harris promoted the existing government system, Sanders spoke directly to working-class Americans who felt left behind by the current American democracy.
Sanders is “bringing in a populist message: Listen, the system is not working for American working people. We need to reform this system. We need to get money out of politics. We need to clean up the way we govern,” he said. “More Democrats are understanding that that’s a really important message.”
An AP-NORC survey from May found that 75% of Democrats have a favorable opinion of Sanders, while 55% of Democrats have a positive opinion of Ocasio-Cortez. Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez remain popular figures within the party. Duss also cited their rallies and large turnout as evidence of their positive reception. In November 2024, Sanders launched the Fighting Oligarchy Tour after Trump’s reelection. Joined by Ocasio-Cortez, the tour opposes corporate and billionaire influence in politics. A post from Sanders’ post on X reported that the Folsom, California, stop drew over 30,000 participants despite being in a red county.
“The kind of anti-oligarchy rallies that they’ve been doing over the past few months is a way of really focusing attention on the problem. It’s the control of our country’s economic and political life by a small number of wealthy, unaccountable interests that have captured the institutions of governance for their own benefit,” he said. “Americans are starting to really wake up to the fact that we’re not going to fix our democracy until we address that problem.”
However, Senator Bernie Sanders will turn 84 this September. With his age in question, Sanders has suggested that he will not run for president in 2028 in an interview with Fox News.
Duss also emphasized the importance of ideas for candidates. He pointed to examples of leading figures who focus on popular issues for all Americans. Specifically, he named Chris Deluzio in Pennsylvania, Representative Jason Crow (D-CO) in Colorado, and Representative Greg Casar (D-TX) in Texas as examples of Democrats advancing a platform rooted in working-class priorities.
While he is a more conservative Democrat, Deluzio, an Iraq War veteran and swing state representative, has gained attention for his populist language on cost-of-living and anti-corruption issues. Representative Crow is a leading member in the House on tackling campaign finance reform. He has introduced multiple bills to increase transparency and limit dark money, anonymous donations to influence elections. Meanwhile, Representative Casar, the recently elected chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, has championed anti-billionaire messaging.
“If you don’t have a good set of ideas, if you don’t have an actual vision, it doesn’t matter how well you message your campaign,” Duss said. “People can tell that you’re just not for real.”
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Jill Lawrence, opinion writer and author of The Art of the Political Deal: How Congress Beat the Odds and Broke Through Gridlock, proposed similar types of candidates as the party frontrunners going into the midterms and 2028 elections. In an email correspondence with The Politic, Lawrence pointed to a new generation of Democrats, Graham Platner and, again, to Zohran Mamdani. Platner, a veteran and oyster farmer from Maine, and Mamdani, a New York City assemblyman, each combine working-class messaging with progressive values.
“We’ll see how they do in their elections, Mamdani in New York City in November and Platner in the Maine Senate primary next year,” she wrote. “They may be national leaders of the future.”
Lawrence also highlighted Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear as a potential 2028 contender for those seeking a “non-polarizing figure.” Still, she suggested voters will instead rally behind combative governors like California’s Gavin Newsom and Illinois’s JB Pritzker—both of whom have emerged as fierce opponents to Trump’s agenda.
Joan Williams, a professor at UC Law San Francisco, recommended that Democrats reconnect with blue-collar workers as “voters’ confidence in Democrats is at an all-time low.” Like Lawrence, Williams points to Graham Platner in Maine as a promising example. She praises him for connecting with middle-class and blue-collar voters through “straight talk and authenticity.”
“Talking about the opportunity economy, for example. He’s very forthright on economic issues, basically saying this is a rigged economy where ordinary people find it hard to get ahead. He’s centering those economic issues,” she said. “He frames even very left issues in ways that are bound to connect with this middle 50% of voters.”
Williams also highlighted Senator Rubén Gallego (D-AZ), who grew up working in construction, meat-packing, and part-time jobs in Chicago. Now, he serves as a U.S. Senator. Gallego blends his biography with a message rooted in economic justice, veterans’ welfare, and ensuring “hard work yields a stable life.” For Williams, these are the kinds of figures the Democratic Party should emulate to win back voters who feel ignored, especially those in middle and blue-collar America.
With these candidates grounding themselves in the perspectives of “ordinary people,” Williams emphasized that Democrats need to change their approach to appear as relatable and authentic.
Historically, Democrats lost many traditional working-class voters who felt alienated by the party’s leftward turn in the 1970s. However, the 1980s were a turning point for their relationship with the working class: The “New Democrat” agenda combined traditional social values— opportunity, responsibility, and community—with pro-growth economic policies. Holly Page said the DLC helped the Democrats reevaluate their messaging. Instead of encouraging new voters to go to the polling booths, they introduced the idea of “persuading current voters” to switch to the Democrats over other candidates.
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Williams is concerned that Democrats lack a “clear strategy” going into the midterms. However, she highlights that the midterms offer a unique opportunity. According to a recent Gallup poll that put his latest job approval at 40%, Trump is under pressure. The economy was the top issue for voters in 2024, yet many view him as failing on this issue. Under the current administration, Williams said that “Democrats have a tremendous amount of ammunition to be talking about how the economy isn’t great.”
“That should be an opening for Democrats to center economic issues,” she said. “Democrats have to position themselves to be able to be seen as an attractive alternative, which they haven’t managed to do consistently yet.”
Matt Duss had a similar recommendation for the party. He believed the most pressing challenge for the Democrats is a lack of party unity. Through unifying the “diverse coalition” of Democrats and “respecting differences” within the party, Duss said the Democrats can present an “alternative vision” that can “reform not just our party, but our democracy.”
However, Duss warned that the longer it takes to find common ground, the harder it will be for Democrats to present a cohesive vision heading into the upcoming midterm elections and the 2028 presidential race.
“It’s a long way off,” Duss noted, “but our primaries start very early in the United States. Some of these things will start to shake out right after the midterms as we see who wins, who loses, who defends their seats, and who gets replaced. That’s when the direction of the party heading into 2028 will become clearer.”
Though the midterms will serve as the foundation for the Party’s philosophy moving into 2028, the lack of an incumbent running for reelection will forge a competitive Democratic primary where agendas with different focuses can each vie to reconnect with the working-class voter. While Duss did not view identifying a frontrunner as immediately urgent, he argued that unifying around a message is.
“It’s not enough just to criticize Trump,” he said. “If all you’re doing is reacting to what he’s doing, you strengthen him. Democrats need to offer a better alternative—a clear, unified vision of how to fix the system itself. Taking too long to do that is hurting both the party and the country.”
Holly Page highlighted a similar recommendation to Democrats of appearing as the candidate with the better platform.
“People who actually voted for him in 2024 need to now vote for a Democrat in the House,” she said. “I think somebody’s got to challenge the party. They have to challenge the ideas, and they have to challenge the strategy. They have to persuade the ever-increasing majority that is somewhere in the middle to vote for them over MAGA Republicans.
To reclaim the White House, Democrats cannot just passively react to Republicans. Instead, the party needs a challenger to check their dominance and actively work toward rebuilding trust with working-class voters through a unifying vision and innovative ideas. Yet, the Democrats can also learn from the Republicans’ anti-system and anti-elitist messaging. If the Democrats fail to find their direction in the upcoming elections, the only major party still defending healthcare access, social safety nets, and civil rights risks losing its voice—and with it, the progress made toward protecting those essential freedoms.