Democrats take heart from 2025 victories as Newsom, Harris look ahead

Los Angeles — Democrats were feeling jubilant astatine this year's Democratic National Committee wintertime meetings aft decisive victories successful the off-year elections. Now, they accidental they are looking to physique connected the 2025 momentum arsenic they attack adjacent year's midterms — and beyond.

Two of the astir salient enactment leaders, some Californians, dominated conversations astir 2028 astatine the yearly gathering of enactment leaders. And determination were a mates of wide signals from California Gov. Gavin Newsom and erstwhile Vice President Kamala Harris that some upcoming cycles are  connected their minds. 

Newsom softly switched the timing of his quality astatine the conference, according to aggregate sources acquainted with the archetypal schedule. One apical enactment authoritative said helium had done truthful successful bid to debar speaking connected Friday, the aforesaid time arsenic different imaginable 2028 statesmanlike contenders. He did not privation to stock the  day, oregon headlines. Friday was the time Harris was acceptable to present the keynote code to the gathering. Newsom changed his visit  to Thursday. A California Democrat adjacent to Harris rolled their eyes erstwhile asked astir the governor's maneuver. 

Democrats gave Newsom an enthusiastic welcome, clamoring for handshakes and selfies erstwhile helium arrived. He told reporters helium was determination to convey enactment members for their assistance connected Proposition 50, the ballot measurement helium championed to alteration the legislature to redraw California's legislature representation to marque 5 GOP-held districts much affable to Democrats. The determination was intended to offset a Trump-driven redistricting propulsion successful Texas that would gully a representation aimed astatine expanding the state's Republican legislature delegation by five.

The California politician said helium wanted to assistance Democratic leaders successful states similar Missouri face GOP redistricting efforts and assistance boost the party's chances of retaking the House successful the 2026 midterm elections. 

" I'd beryllium remiss If I didn't accidental 'hello'," helium said, explaining his visit. He added that determination was a "sense of optimism here." 

" The party, much broadly, I deliberation is feeling similar they got their oversea legs back. They are winning and winning solves a batch of problems,"he said to reporters.

Newsom's redistricting inaugural galvanized Democrats, Latino voters and young voters successful California and beyond, uniting them against the GOP efforts to insulate Republicans from midterm losses. It became a broader rallying outcry — particularly among those attending the wintertime meeting, who told CBS News they're looking for "fighters" to pb them retired of the governmental wilderness. 

The California venue meant home-state Democrats made up an outsize stock of attendees, and they gave a lukewarm invited to their erstwhile legislator and the 2024 Democratic statesmanlike nominee erstwhile she arrived.

Chants of "Kamala! Kamala!" rang out. Harris wasted nary clip successful seizing connected Democrats' conflict outcry of  affordability, an contented that was much fraught erstwhile she was moving arsenic portion of the administration, alternatively of successful absorption to it.

"[Voters] privation leaders who combat for affordability, for wellness care, for the close of radical to enactment successful their democracy," she said. "Americans privation leaders who combat for them, and that is what we volition proceed to bash successful 2026 arsenic we vie successful each state, successful each district, and each level of government."

She past dropped the biggest hint that she is considering different statesmanlike run.

 "Obviously, we indispensable absorption connected the midterms, but Democrats, we indispensable besides person a wide imaginativeness for what comes aft the midterms."

"You!" an assemblage subordinate yelled.

Harris smiled and continued, "We request to reply the question, 'What comes adjacent for our party, our democracy?' As we program what comes aft this administration, (we) cannot spend to beryllium nostalgic for what was, successful fact, a elemental instrumentality to what existed successful the past," Harris said. "The enactment up requires america to reinvent, to innovate, to animate and recognize that the task earlier america is not conscionable a governmental project. It indispensable beryllium a task of civic renewal."

She called connected Democrats for "a caller commitment" that is "not commanded by large corporations oregon vocation politicians, not by the elite oregon wealthy, but by mundane citizens…for the betterment of the country, a committedness that declares that the powerfulness of this state does not beryllium to immoderate king oregon acceptable of oligarchs." It was 1 of her biggest applause lines.

One DNC voting subordinate and elder Democratic operative told CBS News that Harris remains fashionable with Democrats: "She has large relationships with each these radical and campaigned successful a mode that Gov. Newsom hasn't yet had the accidental to."

For present — 2 years earlier a azygous superior ballot volition beryllium formed — Harris "clearly has a large vantage erstwhile it comes to the enactment apparatus," the operative said. "But radical are precise excited to spot everybody, including Gov. Newsom. Newsom is showing radical however to combat back."

Many of the Democrats who attended the wintertime gathering campaigned for Harris during her 107-day sprint aft President Joe Biden exited the 2024 race aft his disastrous statement against President Trump and were thrilled by the anticipation that Harris could tally again. But not everyone sees the dynamic the aforesaid way. 

"Harris has to beryllium to a batch of radical that she tin beryllium a bully campaigner again," a elder legislature advisor astatine the gathering told CBS News. "Newsom is already doing that" with the redistricting measure. The adjutant called it a "huge validation" of his approach.

Broadly, Democrats accidental they aren't lone relying connected anti-Trump messaging going into the midterms. After victories successful this year's gubernatorial and mayoral races, the enactment is trying to stress run messages astir Americans' economical concerns. The Democrats successful the governor's races successful New Jersey and Virginia and successful the New York and Miami mayoral races made this the cardinal absorption of their palmy campaigns, and enactment strategists are urging different candidates to follow the aforesaid template. 

On Friday, DNC Chair Ken Martin enactment it bluntly successful the packed edifice auditorium: "We cognize what's important close now. S*** is excessively expensive." 

Congress and the midterms

Many Democrats consciousness optimistic astir their prospects successful the House. The enactment successful the White House astir ever loses crushed successful midterms, and Mr. Trump's support ratings person slid. They spot the Senate arsenic a steeper climb, with lone a fistful of wide opportunities for Democrats to triumph GOP-held seats. 

Democrats besides inactive look challenges — the 2024 erosion of enactment among Latino voters and younger radical and voters without assemblage degrees, arsenic good arsenic interior disagreements among progressives and moderates, were apical concerns for those astatine the L.A. meetings. But they were buoyed by the inroads their 2025 candidates person made with these parts of the electorate.

For this weekend, though, they chose to bask the momentum they yet look to person with their off-year predetermination wins. Party leaders told CBS News they spot an accidental to physique connected their victories, alternatively than conscionable offering theoretical arguments and complaints astir their failing strategy successful past year's decisive decision astatine the ballot box. 

Multiple Democrats who were asked if they expected a Democratic "wave" successful 2026 — arsenic immoderate of their cohorts had predicted starring into the meetings — offered an emphatic and affirmative response.

"100%. Yes," 1 DNC voting subordinate said. 

That assurance was underscored, Democrats said, by the unit they're seeing wrong GOP ranks — noting Indiana Republicans resisted Mr. Trump's GOP-friendly redistricting effort successful their state. 

Democrats present saw it arsenic a motion that the governmental terrain is shifting successful their favor.

"We're not looking backward anymore," a California Democrat said aft Harris' speech. "We're focused connected what's moving now: existent Democratic governors, existent fights, and existent wins. Not the past."

The Democrat besides pointed to a fundraiser connected the sidelines of the meetings headlined by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who's often mentioned arsenic a imaginable 2028 statesmanlike contender. The event, emceed by Conan O'Brien, raised implicit $1 cardinal for the DNC, according to respective Democratic sources. It was the past governmental lawsuit attended by Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, earlier they were tragically killed implicit the weekend. Reiner was besides a salient Democratic enactment advocator and donor, and happily posed for photographs with his chap Democrats successful attendance. 

At another Democratic fundraiser successful Los Angeles that closed retired the weekend, erstwhile President Barack Obama said helium feels "a caller energy" since the party's off-year wins. The erstwhile president — whose 96% favorability rating among Democrats makes him 1 of the party's astir fashionable figures — urged Democrats to absorption connected winning the midterms and processing "a amended story" to archer voters, alternatively than connected "nerdy" interior disagreements that helium said astir voters spot arsenic worldly "for assemblage seminars."

"Of people determination are going to beryllium immoderate tactical differences, but that shouldn't beryllium our superior interest due to the fact that we're warring a bigger fight," Obama said, according to excerpts obtained by CBS News. 

Nikole Killion contributed to this report.