Democrats are hopeful again. But unresolved questions remain about party’s path forward

WASHINGTON– For at least a day, beleaguered Democrats found hope. But behind the party’s relief at scoring its first major electoral victories since last November’s defeat lie unresolved questions about its direction heading into next year’s midterm elections.

On Election Day, Republicans fought from deep blue New York and California to the swing states of Georgia, Pennsylvania and Virginia. There are signs that key voting groups, including young people, black voters and Hispanics who shifted to President Donald Trump’s Republican Party just a year ago, may be reversing course. And Democratic leaders across the political spectrum united behind a simple message focused on Trump’s inability to solve rising costs and everyday kitchen problems.

The dominant performance sparked a new round of debate between party pragmatists and fiery progressives over the approach that led to Tuesday’s victories and the path forward ahead of the high-stakes 2026 midterm elections and beyond. The lessons Democrats learn from these victories will help determine the party’s main message and messengers next year — when elections will decide the balance of power in Congress for the second half of Trump’s term — and potentially in the 2028 presidential race, which is already in its early stages.

“Of course there is a division within the Democratic Party. There is no secret,” Sen. Bernie Sanders told reporters at a news conference on Capitol Hill about the election results.

Sanders and his chief political strategist have pointed to the success of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, as a model for Democrats across the country. But Rep. Suzan Del Bene, who is leading House Democrats’ midterm campaign strategy, avoided saying Mamdani’s name when asked about his success.

Del Bene instead praised the moderate approach taken by Democrats Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill in successful gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, seeing it as a more viable path for candidates outside of a Democratic stronghold like New York City.

“New York is bright blue…and the path to a majority in the House will go through purple districts,” she told The Associated Press. “People in Arizona, Iowa and Nebraska are not focused on the mayor of New York.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a likely Democratic presidential candidate who campaigned alongside Democrats in several states ahead of Tuesday’s elections, noted that the candidates met on a common issue that resonated with voters regardless of location.

“All the candidates that won in these different states were focused on people’s everyday needs,” Shapiro said. “And you saw voters in every one of these states and cities turn out to send a clear message to Donald Trump: They reject his chaos.”

Amid Democrats’ phone calls and news conferences, members of the party’s different wings had sharp criticism of each other.

While Shapiro praised the party’s success in an interview Wednesday, he also acknowledged his concerns about Mamdani in New York.

Shapiro, one of the country’s most prominent Jewish elected leaders, said he was uncomfortable with some of Mamdani’s comments about Israel. New York’s mayor-elect, a Muslim, called Israel’s response to the October 7 attacks a “genocide” against the Palestinian people and was slow to condemn rhetoric linked to anti-Semitism.

“I expressed that to him personally. We’ve had good private communications,” Shapiro said of his concerns. “And I hope, as he did last night in his victory speech, that he will be a mayor who protects all New Yorkers and tries to bring people together.”

Meanwhile, Sanders political strategist Faiz Shakir warned Democrats against adopting “cookie cutter campaigns that say nothing and do nothing” – a reference to centrist Democrats Spanberger and Sherrill.

Despite the potential fissures within the Democratic coalition, it is difficult to underestimate the scale of the party’s electoral success.

In Georgia, two Democrats swept to victory over incumbent Republicans in the state Public Service Commission election, giving Democrats the largest statewide margin of victory in more than 20 years.

In Pennsylvania, Democrats won not only three state Supreme Court elections, but also every presidential county seat like Bucks and Erie counties, including sheriffs. Bucks County elected its first Democratic district attorney, as Democrats there also won key school board races and county judgeships.

Maine voters rejected a Republican-backed measure that would have required showing identification at the polls. Colorado approved raising taxes on people earning more than $300,000 a year to fund school lunch programs and food assistance for the state’s low-income residents. And California voters overwhelmingly supported a charge led by Gov. Gavin Newsom to redraw the congressional map to give Democrats up to five additional House seats in the upcoming election.

Trump made inroads with Black and Hispanic voters in 2024. But this week, Democrats had strong showings with non-white voters in New Jersey and Virginia, which was promising.

About 7 in 10 voters in New Jersey were white, according to the AP Voter Poll. And Sherrill won about half of that group. But she compensated for her relative weakness among whites with a strong performance among black, Hispanic and Asian voters.

The vast majority — about 9 in 10 black voters — supported Sherrill, as did about 8 in 10 Asian voters.

Hispanic voters in New Jersey were more divided, but about two-thirds supported Sherrill; only about 3 in 10 people voted for the Republican candidate, Jack Ciattarelli.

The trend was similar in Virginia, where Spanberger performed well among black, Hispanic and Asian voters, although she did not win a majority of white voters.

The debate over the party’s future is already beginning to play out in the key midterm elections, where Democrats have only just begun intraparty primaries.

The choice is tough in Maine’s high-stakes Senate race, where Democrats will choose from a field that includes establishment favorite Gov. Jan Mills and Sanders-backed populist Graham Platner. A similar dynamic could play out in key contests in Massachusetts, New York, Texas and Michigan.

Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic candidate for Michigan Senate and aligned with the progressive wing of the party, said his interlocutors were demanding bold action to address their economic concerns.

“People are so frustrated with how difficult it has become to afford a dignified life here in Michigan and across the country,” he said.

“I’m sure the corporate donors don’t want us to push too hard,” El-Sayed continued. “What worries me is that the same people who told us everything was fine in 2024 will miss the mandate. »

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Associated Press reporter Mike Catalini in Newark and Joey Cappelletti in Washington contributed.