Democrats, fresh from winning control of the US Congress in the midterms, were set to gather in Denver on Thursday for a two-day conference titled What’s Next, according to organizers, with the event designed to debate the party’s direction and showcase potential 2028 presidential contenders. The meeting, planned before the midterms by the moderate group Majority Democrats and chaired by Massachusetts Representative Jake Auchincloss, will bring together newly elected lawmakers, strategists and established Democratic leaders as the party prepares to take both the House and Senate in January.
Key Takeaways: Democrats won Congress in the midterms and will take control in January. The Denver conference, organized by Majority Democrats, will feature potential 2028 candidates and debates over the party’s ideological direction. Organizers claim the event offers a break from both an old establishment and an activist left, while progressives question whether its policy agenda is ambitious enough.
The conference’s context is a party facing difficult choices after the midterms. According to its website, Majority Democrats portrays itself as an alternative to an old establishment that supposedly sells mediocrity disguised as moderation and to an activist left that demands purity disguised as justice. The group says its members are willing to challenge the establishment and break with their party when it means standing up for the people they actually represent. Progressives have pushed back, arguing that the group’s vision is not ambitious enough, including its support for a public health insurance option called Medicare for Americans rather than a Medicare for All system.
The speaker list includes Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, all seen as possible contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination. They will be joined by newcomers who flipped seats in the midterms, including Texas Senator-elect James Talarico and Iowa Senator-elect Josh Turek. California Representative Ro Khanna, who has described himself as a long-shot presidential candidate, and Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, who has said he is kicking the tires on a possible 2028 run, are also expected.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, expected to become the next House speaker, is confirmed despite skepticism from some on the party’s left about current leadership. He is scheduled to speak on Friday about the 120th Congress, which begins next year. Khanna and Van Hollen will join New Jersey Senator Andy Kim for a discussion titled The Trust Deficit, while Shapiro and Senators Elissa Slotkin and Ruben Gallego are due to speak about the next era of the Democratic Party. High-profile progressive figures such as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders are missing from the published speaker list.
The outlook remains unsettled. Democrats are preparing to use their House and Senate majorities to challenge the US regime in the final two years of Trump’s presidency while beginning to look ahead to 2028. Whether the Denver gathering can reconcile the party’s moderate and progressive wings, or merely deepen internal friction, will be watched closely in the coming months as potential candidates position themselves and newly elected lawmakers face their first tests in the 120th Congress.
Source: www.aljazeera.com