We are now one year and two months from Election Day 2028. While that may seem a long time, in politics, it's very late in the day to be on a quest to figure out who will be steering the Democratic Party to victory.
Super Tuesday is March 7, 2028, and history suggests that a nominee will almost certainly be in view by then. But history doesn't know the socialists, and it's my guess that as long as a far-left candidate isn't mathematically eliminated, they will stay in the race, sucking cash and energy away from the Democrats' anointed candidate.
Complicating matters is that putative Democratic leaders like Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom seem worn and trite. Not only that, neither personality sets the party on fire the way a radical left candidate does. If either candidate is victorious in the primaries, there are going to be a lot of disappointed socialists whom Democrats will have to reckon with.
But who will lead the Democrats until then? Ordinarily, the highest-ranking elected official would serve as placeholder until a presidential candidate is chosen. Failing that, a party chairman could fill in.
For Democrats, that is not an option. DNC Chairman Ken Martin is a trainwreck who has presided over the most disastrous two years in the recent history of the party. The party is still in debt as of June 2026, a bad omen for the upcoming midterm elections. Critics, including major Democratic donors and activists, have publicly voiced frustration over poor communication, lack of outreach, and internal mismanagement.
Party insiders criticized Martin's handling of the post-2024 election autopsy report, which was delayed and ultimately released alongside statements downplaying its utility. It was a brutal analysis of Harris's campaign and the drag put on it by far-left groups.
Perhaps a healthy party would have cut its losses and named another chairman. But a damaging quiescence has descended over the national party, a paralysis that speaks to a fear of change lest what comes next is even worse.
What about leading politicians? House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) are in danger of losing their leadership positions in the new Congress next year.
Activists and voters criticize Schumer and Jeffries for failing to mount an aggressive opposition to the GOP, particularly when Schumer voted with Republicans to pass continuing resolution funding bills rather than risking a government shutdown. Jeffries is taken to task for his support for Israel and failing to stand up to "bullying" by Trump.
The base perceives a lack of spine. Progressive groups like Our Revolution report widespread base anger, with rank-and-file members arguing that traditional institutional tactics are ineffective and that leadership yields too easily to Republican priorities.
What really sticks in the craw of the base is Schumer's meddling in primaries. Critics argue that Schumer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) frequently attempt to handpick establishment candidates in Senate primaries over populist or progressive choices favored by local bases. Meanwhile, Jeffries supports all incumbents, angering many in the base who look for change.
Base voters express frustration when party-backed candidates struggle or fail to excite the electorate, viewing leadership as out of touch with current grassroots energy.
Critics on the left also point to leadership-aligned PACs under Jeffries' orbit when establishment-backed candidates receive early institutional support.
Democrats are not going to find an overwhelmingly popular leader among anyone in office. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez couldn't win a leadership race, much less serve as standard-bearer. She will run for president in 2028, with her best chance in 2032 or 2036.
That won't help Democrats now or in the immediate future. They will drift through the midterm elections, counting on history and Trump's unpopularity to give them a majority in the House and perhaps the Senate.
What happens afterward is a continuation of the civil war that shows no sign of being resolved.
Editor's Note: The Democrat Party has never been less popular as voters reject its globalist agenda.
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