Progressive versus moderate? Democrats deny party rift as they head into new Congress

As they head into the new Congress, Democratic leaders are firmly denying talk of a 'progressive versus moderate' rift in the party. Democrats who won in the midterms insist the incoming class of lawmakers has more in common than divisions, even across ideological factions.

The winning Democrats — including those in places previously considered off the blue map and those in Democratic strongholds — crafted their campaigns around economic populism and accountability. Voters sent a resounding message to work on affordability and rein in the Trump administration, party officials say.

The challenge will come when this anti-establishment class meets a Washington machine it views as stuck to the status quo, confronting institutional barriers — and a president with a veto pen — that could prevent the tangible changes voters demanded, political operatives and officials said.

Before taking their oaths, the new lawmakers must decide whether to keep their party's leaders. In the Senate, Chris Van Hollen has announced a challenge to longtime leader Chuck Schumer. On the House side, Hakeem Jeffries so far appears to have the speaker's job.

In a speech at the Democrats' meetup in Denver on Friday, Van Hollen said his bid was a response to voters' calls for a political system that serves them. 'We should not be preserving our institutions if they are not delivering for the American people,' he said.

But disagreements over a leader do not mean deep disagreements on the path forward, Democrats insist. Maurice Mitchell, leader of the Working Families Party, said only 'a very small set of consultants and self-interested commentators' are pushing the factional fight online. This month's wins, he said, present a 'generational opportunity' to deliver results.

Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, said the party has once again become a big tent, with an interesting mix of 'basically a slice of America governing'. 'It's not going to be a one-note party,' she said. Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive who won the Senate race in Michigan, has said President Trump can call Medicare for All 'Trumpcare for All' if he wants, as long as it becomes law.

Affordability will be the clear frontrunner on the shared agenda: ending the war in Iran to lower gas prices, rolling back tariffs, restoring subsidies on the health insurance exchanges, and reversing upcoming cuts to social services. 'I haven't heard any Democrat with a different position on those,' said Glenn Ivey, a Democratic representative from Maryland.

The second-most-frequent refrain from voters was accountability for the Trump administration. There is also consistent support for institutional reforms to restore public trust in Congress: a group of 50 incoming freshmen wrote to Democratic leadership calling for a ban on congressional stock trading. 'A stock trading ban alone will not fix Washington, but it is the fastest way to show voters we heard them,' the group wrote.

At the Denver gathering, Jeffries said banning congressional stock trading was on the menu, and he also supported limiting how long members can serve as committee leaders to give younger lawmakers a chance.

Democrats also flipped state legislatures in several states, creating new governing trifectas that could deliver policy wins at state level. Joe Maxwell, president of the Farm Action Fund, advised bringing single-issue bills rather than weighty omnibus measures so people can see movement. Mitchell said lawmakers should not hedge bills against a possible Trump veto: 'They voted people in to fight for them.'