The Democrat Leadership Vacuum

Democrats are facing one very big and consequential question: who leads the party now? None of the options are particularly appealing.

As former President Joe Biden’s helicopter departed the White House South Lawn for the last time on Monday, so did the closest thing Democrats had to a singular unifying leadership figure – although even Biden’s prestige within the party had long since been diminished by his shameful withdrawal from the race and obvious cognitive decline. Fair or not, many Democrats privately and publicly blamed Biden for Kamala Harris’s loss to Trump, leading to open clashes between Biden and Harris aides.

Harris herself would seem to be the obvious choice to take up the mantle and lead the Democrat Party. She has the national profile, the donor connections, and did, after all, earn more than 75 million votes last year.

But there’s no denying that Harris ran a dreadful campaign and got utterly embarrassed by Trump – losing every swing state and performing worse than Biden in every state that both she and Biden won. She was incredibly gaffe-prone and largely tried to shield herself from tough questions until a frantic last-minute media tour that was, predictably, a complete disaster.

Given her failure last year and the debacle that was her short-lived bid for the White House in 2020 (she dropped out before the Iowa caucus, polling at less than one percent) many Democrat power brokers – as well as rank-and-file voters – are likely cautious (understandably) about crowning her the unquestioned future leader of the party.

Even when Biden was in office, the answer to the question of who really led the Democrat Party was still Barack Obama. Biden filled his White House with ex-Obama staffers, and the Harris campaign also had a healthy dose of former aides to the 44th president.

Now 16 years removed from the Oval Office, however, there’s no denying that Obama doesn’t wield nearly the same influence he once did. To be sure, he’s still a major draw at fundraisers and events, and any statement he makes on the state of the party is sure to make headlines. But there’s no denying that his brand was damaged as well by Biden’s presidency, which many regarded as a “third Obama term.” One need only look at the backlash Obama received for lecturing black men about why they must vote for Kamala Harris – and the fact that Trump won more black voters than any Republican in nearly five decades – to understand that the godlike status Obama enjoyed for so many years is now beginning to wear off.

Congress doesn’t provide many answers for Democrats either on the leadership front.

For two decades, including eight years as Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi was the unquestioned Democrat leader on Capitol Hill. Her replacement, Hakeem Jeffries, has failed to build the same national profile – although that has much to do with the fact that he has been in the minority since his ascension to Pelosi’s old job in 2023.

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, arguably Democrats’ most high-profile House member, is immensely popular among progressives, but could never galvanize the more moderate members of her party, who view her as an electoral liability. 

Over in the Senate, Democrat Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has been around long enough to have built a national profile, but he lacks the charisma and broad appeal to be the singular figurehead of the entire party. With Democrats now in the minority, it also seems unlikely that another liberal senator could emerge to lead the party.

Outside of Washington, the pickings appear equally slim for Democrats. The 2020 presidential primary made abundantly clear that the party has no “bench,” or a stable of young up-and-coming stars who could become the next Bill Clinton or Barack Obama. The media tried to turn South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg into a rockstar as Secretary of Transportation, but his tenure was marred by multiple transportation-related disasters. Other one-time presidential contenders, including New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, and former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, have similarly faded into obscurity.

The best answer for Democrats may come from a slate of ambitious governors, most notably Gavin Newsom of California, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan.

Some reports indicated Newsom wished to replace Biden atop the Democrat ticket last year before ultimately deciding to throw his support behind Harris. He is widely expected to consider a run in 2028, but will be seriously hampered by the scenes of chaos and violence that have consumed his state during his tenure, most recently allegations of gross mismanagement with regard to the wildfires that devastated the Los Angeles area earlier this month.

Beshear, Cooper, Shapiro, and Whitmer could all be promising candidates who might be able to unify the party behind them, although each has alienated some key portions of the Democrat base on certain issues. It is also difficult to emerge as the leader of the national party while acting as the governor of one state.

Perhaps the most likely scenario is that the next leader of the Democrat Party is someone who currently does not have a big public profile. After all, at this time in 2004, four years before winning the presidency, Barack Obama was a state senator just launching his bid for the U.S. Senate.

While Democrats scrambling to fill their leadership vacuum is undoubtedly an amusing sight for conservatives, Republican politicians must do more than just look on as liberals bicker among themselves.

The GOP has had the luxury over the last eight years of having a strong leader in Donald Trump who has now consolidated support within Congress and outlined a clear legislative agenda. As Democrats struggle to regroup, Republicans should take this opportunity to pass that agenda before their opponents can mount an effective resistance.

Shane Harris is a writer and political consultant from Southwest Ohio. You can follow him on X @shaneharris513.