“The party is in a period of chaos,” declared a veteran Democratic strategist who worked near the top of Bernie Sanders’ primary campaign before supporting Clinton.

“The establishment approach to do politics, whether at the Senate level or the national presidential level, came up short. We need to take a long look at how we run our races and the candidates we put forward. What else can you say about it?”

The potentially devastating uncertainties are starting to pile up, spurring big-picture panic and minutiae-laden nitpicking for a party that was convinced until the final moment that the United States would never elect Donald Trump. Indeed, they were sure for three years that Hillary Clinton’s lead would persist and Democrats would be the party credited with electing not only the first black man to the White House but the first woman. Perhaps they still will, but not yet.