The fight for the soul of the Democratic Party has begun

The Democratic Party is sharply divided — and the political consequences of the divisions are about to change dramatically

Nancy Pelosi and Bernie Sanders.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Stephanie Keith/Getty Images, Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The Democratic Party is sharply divided — and the political consequences of the divisions are about to change dramatically.

The lack of a consensus in the party was an enormous benefit in the 2018 midterm elections, allowing democratic socialists to run in solidly blue districts and more conservative Democrats to challenge Trumpified Republicans in red and purple regions. But that divide-and-conquer path to electoral victory will no longer work when the party needs to settle on a single ticket with a set agenda heading into the 2020 general election.

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Damon Linker

Damon Linker is a senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also a former contributing editor at The New Republic and the author of The Theocons and The Religious Test.