“The light of the US will return,” says Kamala Harris after losing the presidential election by a landslide against Donald Trump. The Democrat, defeated by the Republican, or rather, by the candidate himself. or like writes George F. Will in Washington Post: “Republican self-degradation continues. Democratic self-sabotage helped.”
“Although I accept defeat, I do not renounce the fight that fueled this campaign,” Harris said hours after her defeat was confirmed. But, Is she the one chosen to continue in that fight? Will the Democratic Party trust the prosecutor who has been vice president of Joe Biden to recover the White House?
It is not clear. “We had a candidate with a relatively low profile —no one knew much about Kamala Harris— who took on one of the most well-known people in human history,” said Democratic Congressman Don Beyer, who easily won re-election Tuesday night.
Ro Khanna, Democrat of California, is one of the few with presidential ambitions who has spoken out already. “I think that there has to be a house cleaninga new generation of leaders has to emerge,” he said.
Who leads the party?
The truth is that the Democrats enter a second Trump presidency without a clear leaderwithout a clear plan and without an agreement on what made them so wrong about the 2024 elections. “There has to be a new way of thinking, new ideas and a new direction. And, you know, the establishment produced a disaster “says Khanna.
![Former President Barack Obama holds hands with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris after introducing her to speak during a campaign rally for Harris on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Clarkston, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart) [[[AP/LAPRESSE]]]](https://imagenes.20minutos.es/uploads/imagenes/2024/10/25/la-candidata-democrati-51708053.jpeg)
But who accepts the challenge knowing that it is time to cross an arid desert four yearsmore arid than in 2016 because Trump will have a greater concentration of power this time than on that occasion? Of course he opponent will not be Trump then (you will not be able to appear again).
Among the elected Democrats most mentioned as 2028 presidential candidates are the governors of California, Illinois, Michigan and Pennsylvania. But now, in full defeat, no one wants to talk. Some even canceled scheduled interviews.
Have they abandoned the working class?
But, like Khanna, some other members of the Democratic party, perhaps the most progressive, have spoken out. He Senator Bernie Sandersthe “leftist” who nearly won the Democrats’ presidential nomination in 2020, wrote a statement in which censures the leadership of his party.
“It shouldn’t be too surprising that a Democratic Party that has abandoned the working class finds that the working class has abandoned it,” Sanders said. “First it was the white working class and now it is also the Latino and black workers. While the Democratic leaders defend the status quohe American people are angry and want change. And they are right,” says the veteran senator from the state of Vermont.
Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar, whose district contains much of Detroit, believes something like this. “The Democrats focused on Trump’s character. His legal problems, being a criminal. But for the most part, people who suffer economically, who feel they are worse off financially, didn’t pay much attention to their character,” he says.
Gavin Newsom, the governor of California
One of the main national figures of the Democratic party is the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, and for this reason possibly one of the main candidates for the presidency in 2028. The San Francisco Chronicle says that Newson “he now positions himself as a leader of the Democratic resistance.”
Apart from betting the party on Harris, Trump’s victory restores him. “Now, Newsom has a political opportunity,” said Rob Stutzman, a Republican strategist who worked for former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. “Not only does he get a lifeline for his career, which was facing a dead end, but he will be able to position himself as the leader of the resistance,” he believes.
Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania
Shapiro’s political star is on the rise. He is completing his second year as governor of Pennsylvania after easily winning in 2022 against Doug Mastriano, a far-right candidate backed by Trump. Previously he was Attorney General of Pennsylvania and a member of the House of Representatives of that same state.
Shapiro has bipartisan appeal and even wins the support of some Republicans in his state. But he’s Jewish. According to Greg Landsman, a congressman from Ohio, it is important to ask whether the United States is ready for a Jewish vice president, or at least a Jewish running mate. In any case, it has attractive potential in the “blue wall” states, which are no longer such.
Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan
Kamala Harris and Gretchen Whitmer They could form a winning ticket for the Democrats. That argues Julian Zelizer in cnn. “Not only would he have the best chance of leading the party out of this moment of crisis, but also the potential to excite voters and produce a historic result,” writes this professor of political history at Princeton University.
Considered a Rising star within the Democratic Partythe governor of Michigan has already served two terms in another key state. Whitmer already appeared in the pools to lead the candidacy if Harris was not chosen to compete with Trump.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the promise of New York
Some speak clearly about the causes of the defeat and echo Sanders’ speech. “The problem is our ability to defend clearly and frankly a program that clearly defends the working class“said Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democratic representative from New York. When people talk about the future of the party, they talk about her (although, they say, she is too far to the left to be the headliner).
“Our main project is unite the working class of this country against a fascist agenda“, he said this Wednesday. “We have had a huge setback in these elections because the fascists gained a lot of support from the working class, something that has happened before in history,” he said.
Ruben Gallego, the surprise of Arizona
Democrat Rubén Gallego is one of the few joys that the blue party took on Tuesday. He has snatched the Arizona Senate seat from Trumpist Kari Lake.
With a Colombian mother and Mexican father, Gallego is a former Marine who was an infantryman in Iraq. Before, he studied International Relations at Harvard University. He has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2015. Some are already talking about him for 2028.
Michelle Obama?
In legal terms, the former first lady could run for president. Betting houses encourage that possibility. The odds of Harris running again in 2028 are 40/1 (2.4%), “but eyes are on a name familiar to Democrats,” assures Newsweek a Betfair spokesperson. Michelle Obama is 4/1 to be president of the US within four years.
The William Hill betting house has looked for the favorites to win the 2028 presidential elections. The one who will be the new vice president of the country since January, JD Vance would be in the lead 3/1 (25%). He is followed by Obama at 5/1 (16.7%), Newsom at 11/2 (15.4%) and Republican DeSantis at 8/1 (11.1%).
Why have the Democrats lost?
Some blame President Biden for the Democratic debacle for going back on his promise not to run for re-election, which prevented the party from electing a replacement in a traditional primary. Tuesday’s results show that the Democratic Party’s current problems go far beyond its political machine.
There are Democratic legislators and advisers who have already criticized Harris, her choice of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as a vice presidential candidate and how she ran her campaign, without distance yourself sufficiently from President Biden.
“It was necessary for the Democratic candidate to separate himself from an unpopular incumbent, As much as we love Joe Biden“Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton told Political. This publication carries an article by its editor Jamie Dettmer titled: “Democrats keep forgetting about the working class“.
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