WASHINGTON—In the ballroom of a Washington hotel, powerful Democrats were looking inward.
After it took big hits in 2024, how can the party of former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama recover?
Progressives such as the Justice Democrats, a group that includes Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), might look to the left, a camp energized by the past presidential runs by democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
On June 4, however, the politicians, analysts, and consultants at WelcomeFest made the case for a pivot to the center, at least on some issues and in some places.
Blogger Matt Yglesias opened his presentation with a question: “Why do Democrats make bad decisions?”
Yglesias highlighted crime, immigration, and permitting regulations among the vulnerabilities that he said President Donald Trump exploited against his Democratic opponents, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Yglesias blamed what some refer to as “the groups,” including environmentalists, criminal justice reform advocates, and other factions, for hamstringing the party.
Not long afterward, a talk between pro-Israel Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) and journalist Josh Barro was disrupted by one such group.
Protesters associated with the Climate Defiance organization stormed the stage, brandishing “Gays Against Genocide” posters. They were physically removed.
Noah Widmann, who is running for Rep. Cory Mills’s (R-Fla.) seat, told The Epoch Times that Democratic interest groups could impede addressing voters’ worries.
“Pretending the border wasn’t a problem, pretending inflation is not a problem—that’s not what everyday Americans care about,” he said.
Adam Frisch, who nearly defeated Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) in 2022, told The Epoch Times his party was too quick to police ideology.
The Center and Rural America
Like Frisch, many at WelcomeFest believe their party needs a bigger tent to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.That bigger tent might include rural America, which has generally trended red even as some parts of suburban and urban America have moved toward the Democrats in recent cycles.
Joe Manchin, a Democrat who went independent months before that contest, and no favorite of progressives, lost to Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.). It was one of many elections that helped turn the Senate over to the Republicans.
“Last time we had 60 votes, we had way more right-wing Democrats, because they’re all right-wing areas,” Armand Domalewski, a cofounder of the pro-development YIMBY Democrats, said of the Senate in an interview with The Epoch Times.
That was in the late 1970s, when the Democrats controlled seats across the South and rural states.
Yet, Domalewski doesn’t think Republicans can zig left as Democrats contemplate zagging right. He cited a lack of strong support for a tax hike on the wealthiest taxpayers. The “millionaires’ tax,” though mulled by Trump, didn’t make it into the House version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a tax and spending package implementing the president’s agenda.
“They just can’t help themselves,” Domalewski said of Republicans.
Frisch said a cultural disconnect had undermined his party’s ability to reach voters, including in the less populated areas he has sought to represent.
“We’ve become the ‘Shame on you’ party. Shame on you for eating that food. Shame on you for having that job. Shame on you for working in industry. Shame on you for not going to college,” Frisch said. “We’re just not treating people with respect.”
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez (D-Wash.), who narrowly defeated Republican Joe Kent to represent a rural section of Washington state, had a ready answer when asked what WelcomeFest attendees should know about the country.
Listening to Americans
Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) told pollster David Shor that he ignored insiders who advised him against discussing immigration during his successful 2024 campaign.“You have to talk to people,” he said. He said immigration was a top concern he heard from people on the ground in the district he now represents.
Like Suozzi, Rebecca Cooke and Janelle Stelson, who both nearly defeated Republicans in 2024, stressed the importance of hearing from everyday Americans.
“A big part of it was showing up,” said Cooke. Last year, the nonprofit founder came within a few points of defeating Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) in a competitive chunk of rural western Wisconsin.
Cooke added that showing up included doing so “in places where you weren’t always seeing a Democrat.”
Stelson, a former newscaster who lost to Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) by less than two points in 2024, said that “you don’t have to come up with a slate of issues that are important to people. They’ll tell you, make no bones about it.”
Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) said Democrats should set an agenda based on big ideas, like pledging to cure Alzheimer’s disease by 2050, as well as openness to feedback.
“Democrats, for the first time in 20 years, have a totally open primary ahead of us in 2028, and we should be having a vigorous internal debate about ideas, messages, policies,” he said. “The presidential primary voters will tell us what resonates.”
As 2024 slowly recedes, WelcomeFest could open up a dialogue among more moderate Democrats seeking lessons from the results. Yet, the influence of the party’s progressive wing was still evident after the “Gays Against Genocide” were escorted from the premises.
On June 5, WelcomeFest issued a somewhat backhanded public apology after multiple speakers stated Justice Democrats and another group, Our Revolution, failed to flip any seats. WelcomeFest said that claim mischaracterized those organizations’ intentions—to elevate progressive Democrats in the party rather than to defeat Republicans.
WelcomeFest cofounder Lauren Harper Pope said in the apology: “WelcomeFest critiques of leftist bad actors, from BlueSky to the foundation-funded professional protesters who rushed the WelcomeFest stage, followed years of unanswered attacks on the most over-performing Democrats.
“If you beat up Democrats who actually beat Republicans, you are part of the problem. If you are a Democrat who beats Republicans, a growing community has your back,” she added.
