The Democrats' Future

Falling poll numbers and unexpected election defeats have left the Democratic Party in a tenuous position and engaged in an intense debate about its future. The party holds the White House and Congress, but its razor-slim majority in the Senate and internal divisions have hindered its ability to pass its legislative agenda. Centrist Democrats argue that the party's long-term prospects are poor unless it does a better job of reaching out to white working-class voters, primarily in rural areas, who have largely abandoned the party in recent decades. The Democrats' progressive wing counters that the party's youthful, multiracial coalition is growing and will be strong enough to win elections, but only if it is inspired to vote by bold policy proposals that speak to America's most pressing social and economic needs. Both sides worry that voting restrictions pushed by Republicans in multiple states, a conservative Supreme Court and a Senate and Electoral College that overrepresent smaller states present serious challenges for Democrats moving forward.