The US Democrats after the midterms: Won, what now?

The time is not yet over when US Democrats' social media feeds consist primarily of videos of victory speeches in front of cheering supporters or funny memes, but are at least characterized by the enthusiasm of an election victory that even the boldest optimists could not have expected.

But mixed in with the cheers are the first serious discussions about what the democratic performance should actually look like in the new Congress, which will be constituted on January 3, 2027. And also whether the two previous faction leaders, Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Hakeem Jeffries, both from New York, are actually the right ones to channel the new power.

The group “Indivisible,” known as organizers of the major nationwide “No Kings” protests, posted a tile on Bluesky on Wednesday against Schumer as the new Senate leader. "Yesterday, voters made it clear that they want a new generation of Democratic fighters. We need a leader in the Senate capable of leading this fight. It's time to elect new leadership," the post said.

In fact, Schumer has drawn the ire of many progressive Democratic supporters for some time. By the time he ensured that a Republican interim budget was passed in the Senate with Democratic votes in March 2025, he was considered cowardly and opportunistic in progressive circles. The same thing happened again in November last year.

In national polls, just 25 percent of respondents give Schumer a positive rating: That's well below President Trump's historically poor poll numbers.

In addition, the Democratic Party and the political and ideological composition of its elected candidates have changed since Schumer was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1980 and to the Senate in 1998. Schumer, the son of a Jewish New York family, long saw himself publicly as Shomer Yisrael, the guardian angel of Israel. He is one of those Democratic politicians whose election campaigns were supported for decades by the pro-Israel lobbying organization AIPAC. Newly elected senators like Abdul El-Sayed, the shooting star from Michigan, have based parts of their election campaign on not accepting money from AIPAC.

But it's not just basic ideological questions that Schumer and Jeffries may have to answer anew. How the new congressional majority wants to act tactically is also up for discussion. Looking for cooperation with the government to push through an increase in the minimum wage or improvements to Medicare without being stopped by Trump with a veto - or uncompromising opposition with investigative committees and even impeachment proceedings? “We can go for a walk and chew gum at the same time,” Jeffries quoted a US saying on this question after the election.

But will that work in a year in which various wings of the party are preparing for the presidential election year of 2028? The second half of 2027 at the latest will be dominated by the upcoming primary elections. Until a candidate is found that the party can rally behind, the congressional leadership is the only one the Democrats have. And that can get pretty hairy.