The Democrats' new campaign agenda: No more Mister Nice Guy

The Hill

2 days ago

The long process of selecting the next Democratic presidential nominee is beginning, with potential candidates speaking already to gatherings of party faithful.
'We can — and we must — condemn Donald Trump's reckless actions,' Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) told about 800 people at the South Carolina Democratic Party's Blue Palmetto Dinner. The nation's only Black governor said Democrats must also advance their own agenda and be 'the party of action,' supporting policies that will quickly improve the lives of Americans.
Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), last year's Democratic vice presidential nominee, told the South Carolina Democratic Convention that Democrats should 'be a little meaner' in standing up to what he called President Trump's bullying.
He then flew across the country to speak to the California Democratic Convention and urged Democrats 'to find some goddamn guts to fight for working people,' because the party 'lost a big chunk of the working class' in last year's election.
'That last election was a primal scream on so many fronts,' he said.
Neither Moore, Walz, nor any other Democrat has announced a 2028 presidential run so far, but Democrats have many excellent potential candidates.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris (D) may seek the presidency a second time or run for governor of California in 2026. Other Democrats who may run for president include Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and several others.
Democrats are trying to figure out the winning recipe to cook up some wins following Republican victories last year. However, Republicans would like nothing better than to make former President Joe Biden's alleged mental decline in office — something Biden strongly denies — a major issue in their campaigns.
I have known Biden for decades and believe he was an outstanding president. But debating his fitness for office is pointless. He will never run for office again. Democrats must look ahead, because voters will cast ballots for candidates they believe will give them a better future.
Trump and congressional Republicans are doing an abysmal job governing. They embrace policies that threaten our liberties and the rule of law, give the richest Americans unjustified tax cuts and make massive cuts to vital government programs that benefit millions of people.
They have eliminated hundreds of thousands of federal employees' jobs and support huge tariffs that raise consumer prices, reduce American exports and force U.S. businesses to lay off workers.
Their legislation also harms our health and environment, weakens colleges and universities and ends diversity, equity and inclusion programs that open the door to the American Dream wider. They have worsened relations with other nations, endangered U.S. national security and seek to deport 1 million unauthorized immigrants, often without due process, and weaken freedom of the press and speech.
Democrats should explain, in easily understandable language, how they would replace extremist Trump policies with better ones. For example, Democrats should point out that Trump and Republicans are prioritizing GOP tax cuts that would bring little or no benefit to most Americans.
The Internal Revenue Service reports that in 2022 the 1 percent of taxpayers with the highest incomes paid about 40.4 percent of federal income taxes, while the top 50 percent of taxpayers paid 97 percent of all federal individual income taxes. The 50 percent of taxpayers with the lowest incomes paid only 3 percent of income taxes.
This means that Trump's tax cuts would save the richest Americans millions of dollars every year, but would save most Americans little or nothing.
And Democrats should accept the reality that in swing congressional districts and states, they need independent and sometimes a slice of moderate Republican votes to win elections. Embracing far-left progressive policies will help Republicans get elected. Rather than fighting over ideological purity, Democrats should focus on defeating Republicans.
Democrats also need to reach out to low-turnout young voters and people of color with every method available. Personal contact is more effective than paid ads in reaching nonvoters.
Beyond any speculation about 2028 and the presidential race, Democrats should first prioritize this year's statewide elections in New Jersey and Virginia, and then the 2026 midterm elections for Congress, state legislatures and governorships. Nearly half the members of the House and Senate are former state legislators.
Capturing at least one house of Congress would give Democrats the power to block some of Trump's legislative initiatives, call on administration officials to testify under oath and file lawsuits against illegal and unconstitutional actions by Trump.
Democrats have an excellent chance of winning control of the House in 2026. Republicans now have a slim majority of 220 to 212. Three vacancies were created by the deaths of Democratic members, who are likely to be replaced by other Democrats in special elections.
The president's party has lost House seats in 18 of the 20 midterm elections since the end of World War II. We don't know how popular Trump will be in 2026, but I'm betting his popularity falls as his policies hurt growing numbers of Americans, dragging down Republican candidates with him.
A Gallup poll found that Trump had a public approval rating of 43 percent in May and a disapproval rating of 53 percent. The only post-World War II president with a lower approval rating in May after being elected was Trump himself, with an approval rating of 39 percent in May 2017.
Democrats will have a harder time winning a Senate majority than taking control of the House, but good candidates attuned to their state's electorates can help to prove the political prognosticators wrong.
Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate. Thirty-five seats will be on the ballot in 2026, 23 of which are held by Republicans.
Democrats had an awful 2024, marked by election defeats. America and the world are having an awful 2025 as a result of Trump's erratic, incompetent and dangerous leadership and Republicans' blind loyalty.
Democrats are tired of looking back at what went wrong last year. We are rebuilding the party, holding town halls in Republican congressional districts where Republicans are too scared to do so and filing lawsuits challenging Trump's efforts to govern by executive order as if he were a king.
A new era is beginning for Democrats. I look forward to better days ahead when my party starts winning elections against the radical Republicans who have abandoned Ronald Reagan's principled conservatism and embraced Trump and his MAGA movement's reckless extremism.
Donna Brazile is a political strategist, a contributor to ABC News and former chair of the Democratic National Committee. She is the author of 'Hacks: Inside the Break-ins and Breakdowns That Put Donald Trump in the White House.'