Democratic losses at the state level could cripple the party for years to come

Worse, without a strong presence in the states, liberals lack a base for institutional pressure. Outside of Congress, there are few party voices pushing President Obama to the left, or urging a more liberal approach to key policy matters. And while part of this is just the nature of the game—parties try to maintain unity when they control the White House—part of it has to do with the lack of strong liberal voices (and strong liberal agendas) throughout the country. If you have your doubts, you just have to look at the field of presidential candidates for the 2016 Democratic primary who aren’t Clinton. At most—for viable, liberal alternatives outside of Congress—there’s outgoing Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley. The rest are either sitting senators or moderate governors, like New York’s Andrew Cuomo.

Put simply, the two statewide Republican waves have put Democrats and liberals on the near-term defensive. The former will struggle to build a new bench for the post-Obama era, and the latter will fight to put effective pressure on a national party that—if it follows the lead of its likely nominee—isn’t eager to embrace the unapologetic liberalism of its activist class. And the honest truth is that things could get worse. With a sudden economic downturn, Democrats could enter 2016 as serious underdogs, giving Republicans a real chance to elevate new talent and give their statewide strategies a spin on the national stage.