Powerless, Democrats Debate Just How Deep in the Wilderness They Are

Democratic lawmakers, activists and strategists across the ideological spectrum are engaged in a fierce debate over how badly damaged the 2024 election left the party’s brand, a consequential internal argument that is already shaping early efforts to rebuild.

While there is none of the denialism that gripped Republicans after President Trump lost in 2020, Democratic leaders are in sharp disagreement over how to interpret losses that not only returned Mr. Trump to power but also put Republicans in total control of the federal government.

The swiftness with which Mr. Trump has imposed his will on the government, and the nation, has only added urgency to the discussions, which are playing out in closed-door gatherings on Capitol Hill, at retreats for donors and strategists and in the intramural campaign culminating in this weekend’s election of the next leader of the Democratic National Committee.

Many loud voices in the party are demanding a reckoning, and a reinvention. But others envision less an overhaul than a wait-and-see approach, hoping to harness what they expect will be a backlash of public opinion against Mr. Trump’s ambitious White House agenda to capture the House of Representatives in 2026.

The divide does not fall neatly along ideological lines. Some of the most moderate and progressive Democrats alike are aligned in seeking a sharp course correction to reverse the party’s erosion of support, especially among working-class voters.

“We need deep changes and hard conversations, not nibbling around the margins,” said Representative Pat Ryan, a Democrat who represents a swing district north of New York City and who outperformed the top of the ticket by one of the wider margins in the nation. “At the core, the brand is weakened to the point that, without members running against it in tough districts, we can’t get to a majority, which is structurally untenable.”