Democrats used their “What’s Next” conference in Denver to celebrate a strong showing in the US midterm elections while confronting the deeper challenge of rebuilding trust with voters.
The two-day gathering brought together rising figures including Iowa governor-elect Rob Sand and Texas senator-elect James Talarico, alongside lawmakers, strategists, organisers and possible future presidential candidates.
Held in a concert venue decorated with images of prominent Democrats, the event featured sessions on what voters want and what the party must change. The mood was one of cautious confidence rather than triumphalism, with speakers warning that the result did not amount to a full endorsement of the Democratic Party.
Colorado congressman Jason Crow said Democrats had won in places where they had not succeeded for many years, including some where they had never previously prevailed. But he added: “It took us decades to dig ourselves in a hole and to push people away from us, and it’s going to take us more than one cycle to earn that trust.”
Democrats urged to rebuild trust
Anderson Clayton, chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, criticised what she described as insufficient investment in the South and among Black voters.
“When we say that Black voters are the base of our party, then I ask why are we not investing in a region of the country that on Tuesday night just proved everybody wrong of what is possible,” she said, to applause.
“Rural America deserves the investment from the Democratic Party and we must run towards communities that our party has run away from.”
Former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg said Democrats should not assume the election marked a permanent shift in American politics.
“It is yet to be written whether what we just experienced is one more oscillation from one side to the other and back, or whether it is the beginning of a tectonic movement changing American politics,” he said.
Mr Buttigieg said the party should combine an immediate focus on action with long-term planning, including a rapid series of bills aimed at reducing the cost of living.
Hakeem Jeffries, the presumptive next Speaker of the House, outlined an agenda that he said would include reversing Medicaid cuts, banning congressional stock trading and mid-decade redistricting, establishing a statutory right to abortion and overturning the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling on political spending.
Democrats debate working with Trump
The conference also exposed a debate over whether Democrats should co-operate with the Trump administration to deliver measures sought by voters.
Michigan senator Elissa Slotkin said she would support a proposal even if it carried the president’s name. “If slapping Trump’s name on it and putting it in gold letters would get it through — hell yes, I would do that,” she said.
Mr Talarico took a similar position, saying: “The American people cannot wait two years for change, so we must work with President Trump. We should make the final two years of his presidency the most productive of any American presidency.”
New Jersey governor Mikie Sherrill urged caution, describing the president as a bad-faith actor. “My advice to Sen. Talarico is if Trump wants to work with us, we will lay out the agenda, and he can sign it,” she said.
The gathering also offered an early glimpse of a potential contest to lead the party into the next presidential race. Mr Buttigieg, New Jersey senator Cory Booker, Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, Arizona senator Ruben Gallego and California congressman Ro Khanna were among those attending, although none declared a candidacy.
Mr Shapiro said the next president should know how to run an organisation and deliver results, rather than simply articulate a vision. Maryland senator Chris Van Hollen, who had previously considered a White House bid, said he was instead pursuing the top leadership position in the Senate.
