Democrats debate how to govern after midterm sweep as party divisions surface in Denver
Fresh from their biggest election victory in half a century, Democratic Party leaders and prospective 2028 presidential candidates gathered in Denver this week to debate how to turn their November 3 midterm landslide into a governing agenda. The party recaptured both chambers of Congress, but the two-day conference exposed familiar splits between moderates and progressives over how to deliver relief from high living costs and how combative to be toward President Donald Trump, who retains veto power for two more years.
Earlier projections put Democrats at at least 255 House seats against 169 Republicans. The latest live national tally now lists 256 Democratic seats and 169 Republican seats, with counting continuing. In the Senate the balance is at least 55 to 44, with Democrats potentially gaining one more seat in Alaska when counting is completed. Speakers described the win not as an enduring mandate but as a temporary opportunity, and many worried that the party could squander one of its biggest victories in a generation if it fails to deliver.
The gathering was hosted by Majority Democrats, a group that promotes younger party leadership and opposes left-wing activism. The conference also returned to the need to rebuild trust among voters who had turned to Trump in 2024 while seeking economic relief.
Work with the president or fight him
One of the sharpest debates centered on how to govern while Trump remains in the White House. James Talarico, the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Texas since 1988, urged cooperation, saying the party should make the final two years of Trump's presidency the most productive of any presidency in American history, a line that drew only tepid applause. Iowa's governor-elect Rob Sand agreed, saying partisan warfare will not deliver results. Minutes later, Maryland congressman Jamie Raskin, expected to chair the House Judiciary Committee and oversee investigations of Trump next year, largely rejected accommodation, saying the Republican Party had become an authoritarian cult of personality and promising to enforce the Constitution against the president. Former attorney general Eric Holder warned Democrats against retreating into caution and seeking approval from those he said were dismantling institutions.
Competing visions on the economy
Nearly every speaker agreed the party's top priority is lowering the cost of food, healthcare and housing, but they disagreed on how. California congressman Ro Khanna, a progressive and possible presidential contender, urged the party to stop chasing the political center and embrace universal healthcare, a wealth tax, a 25-dollar federal minimum wage, deep Pentagon cuts and the abolition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a moderate and another possible 2028 contender, countered that voters do not care about ideological litmus tests and only want results. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, a progressive who this week challenged the more centrist Chuck Schumer for the party's top Senate leadership job, joined calls for populist, government-funded economic programs.
The tensions boiled over when New York congressman Hakeem Jeffries, set to become House speaker in January, was heckled by about ten protesters who accused him of being too timid to address the cost-of-living crisis that fueled voter frustration in the midterms, and demanded more progressive leadership. Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego warned that Hispanic voters who backed Trump in 2024 and switched to Democrats this month had not written the party a love letter but given it, in his words, a short-term loan that must keep being repaid.
Early plans for January
With full control of Congress from January, prominent House and Senate Democrats say they want a fast start in the opening weeks, with early moves responding to voters' top concerns: frustration over the Iran war, high consumer prices and affordable healthcare. Party strategists noted that the scale of the victory swept in centrists, southern Democrats and left-wing progressives alike, guaranteeing a big internal debate over the party's direction and its search for a 2028 presidential nominee. Former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg was among the prospective candidates who addressed the gathering.