Inside the Democratic search for a post-2024 reckoning

By Michael Jones

They’re three words liberals and progressives hate to hear: “Democrats in disarray.”

But after Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris and Democrats lost the Senate and failed to reclaim the House, Trump’s aggressive return to the White House has prompted unrelenting finger-pointing, strategic disagreements, and leadership speculation.

Republicans found themselves in a similar political wilderness 16 years ago after Barack Obama was elected and Democrats bolstered their majorities in both chambers of Congress—marking the first time since 1992 that Democrats won a trifecta in a single election. From the ashes of that debacle emerged the Tea Party, a conservative social and political movement that quickly rejuvenated the party.

Now, after last November’s electoral catastrophe, some Democrats are wondering: Could a Tea Party-style movement emerge from the left—fueled by frustration with the party establishment and fear of what Trump 2.0 will bring?

“We definitely have a growing enraged part of the party. I believe this group is strewn across all spectrums of the party though,” a rank-and-file House Democrat, who was granted anonymity to candidly discuss sensitive intraparty dynamics, told me last night. “Large pockets of folks are angry.”

The original Tea Party was catalyzed by President Obama’s historic inauguration amid backlash to the Wall Street bailouts and an $831 billion stimulus package during the Great Recession. Though the movement claimed libertarian and populist roots, it quickly hardened around fiscal conservatism, anti-tax rhetoric, and a virulent opposition to “big government”—often with a strong undercurrent of racial resentment aimed at the nation’s first Black president.

The Tea Party played a decisive role in the 2010 midterms when Republicans gained 63 House seats and seized control of the chamber—ushering in a more combative, populist, and ideologically rigid GOP.

Though the label faded, its influence endured. The Freedom Caucus became its institutional heir. Donald Trump built on its themes: anti-elite anger, anti-immigrant policies, institutional distrust, and hostility toward the Republican establishment. Many Tea Party activists became part of the MAGA base or formed the backbone of state and local GOP machines.

So what about Democrats?

There are reasons to think a similar (in terms of reactivity) grassroots uprising could take shape.

First, the frustration is real—and growing. Many base voters feel the party hasn’t forcefully countered Trumpism, protected democratic norms, or delivered structural change on issues like climate, housing, healthcare, and inequality.

President Biden’s 2024 defeat accelerated the establishment fatigue that led Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, and Jim Clyburn to step down, clearing the way for a new top trio: Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark, and Pete Aguilar. But I’m hearing some long-serving Democrats are bracing for a reckoning over the party’s generational leadership, strategic direction, and ideological identity.

Meanwhile, progressive organizing has intensified at the state level—often outside the Democratic Party’s formal machinery.

“We want to see more action, more anger, a total takedown of the lies and cowardice coming from the Republicans, and more of us emerging as new leaders of the party,” the member told me.

But I’m not convinced a mirror image of the Tea Party is on the horizon.

The Tea Party was unified in its opposition. Democratic grassroots movements are often fragmented—rallying around racial justice, climate, labor, housing, immigration, and more. They tend to operate in coalitions, not around a single ideological banner.

And while Trump has dominated Republican politics for a decade, no single Democratic figure has emerged as the face of the party post-2024. Structural, political, and cultural factors all play a role.

Unlike the Trumpified GOP, Democrats are more ideologically and geographically diverse. Power is distributed across party leaders, governors, and rising stars. That makes it harder for any figure to consolidate authority or galvanize the base independently.

Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are powerful institutional actors, but neither is viewed as a transformational messenger. Jeffries is still building his brand on the Hill, and Schumer’s leadership is mostly legislative and Senate-centered.

And even in defeat, Biden remains a central figure. He hasn’t fully receded from public life. Many key Democrats—especially those from his administration—are navigating how to define themselves without alienating Biden’s base or appearing disloyal.

Still, some signs are worth watching.

Groups like Justice Democrats and the Working Families Party could become more aggressive. Primaries against establishment incumbents may escalate. And if Trump’s second term proves as authoritarian and extreme as feared, the left’s organizing energy may grow more radical and confrontational—closer in spirit to the Tea Party than to the institutional liberalism of the Obama-Biden years.

So while the post-2024 moment may look like “Democrats in disarray” on the surface—fractured messaging, leadership uncertainty, and strategic soul-searching—it’s better understood as a period of reassessment and transition after a major defeat.

Whether Democrats emerge stronger—or stay stuck in factional paralysis—will shape the road to the 2026 midterms.

For now, many members are stewing in uncertainty.

“The frustration is real, and we all feel it,” the member told me. “I hope my colleagues are listening to all of the anger, from red and blue areas, and tapping into that to bring us back together.”

Michael Jones is an independent Capitol Hill correspondent and contributor for COURIER. He is the author of Once Upon a Hill, a newsletter about Congressional politics.