afriedman15_YinYangGettyImages_democratdonkeyvoteballot YinYang/Getty Images

The Democratic Nominee America Needs

Beating US President Donald Trump in 2020 will be a hollow victory unless the party regains control of the Senate as well. Only then can the US begin to repair the damage caused by the Trump administration, restore the checks and balances on which American government depends, and right the country’s fiscal trajectory.

SEATTLE – The contenders for the US Democratic Party’s presidential nomination have held their first debates, and the main questions reverberating in political and media circles seem to be either who will be tough enough to take on President Donald Trump, or who has the headline-grabbing ideas.

But there is a better way to think about who the Democratic nominee should be. While the Democrats search for a liberal savior, they run the risk of making a fundamental mistake. The answer to the party’s problems lies not in its own version of an extreme disruptor, but rather in empowering moderate local leaders throughout America, not just the coastal states.

The Democrats must pick a candidate who not only wins the White House, but, just as critically, also gives swing-state House and Senate candidates policies that are wide enough for them to run and win on, thereby enabling change in Senate leadership. The Democrats must nominate a candidate who understands that voters in many of the states that will actually decide the election are largely more fiscally conservative and less interested in the politics of division.

https://prosyn.org/KcrsAmv