Democrats are still staring down bleak polling numbers about their party’s brand, even as President Donald Trump’s favorability also has dropped. The answer to Democrats’ troubles at WelcomeFest, the moderate Democrats’ Coachella, include: purity tests are toxic, being unpopular on the social media site Bluesky is cool and winning again means running to the center.
That’s the gospel speakers preached on stage Wednesday in the basement of a Washington, D.C., hotel, where hundreds of centrist elected officials, candidates and operatives gathered to commiserate over the 2024 election results and chart their version of the path forward for the Democratic Party.
“There’s a hunger for people to work together, to try to find solutions and to talk in common sense terms,” said Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), who won a much-heralded special election in 2024 by calling out his own party on immigration policies.
“I think that there’s a lot more elected officials that are willing to speak up about that because they don’t want to lose,” Suozzi told reporters after his appearance.
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