SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – As Democrats deal with White House, Senate and House of Representatives defeats in the 2024 election, it looks like governors might be who to look for when it comes to the future of the party.
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“Democrats who spoke with NBC News are keeping their eyes on roughly two dozen party figures, including a number of governors and a handful of lawmakers who have carved out unique brands and attracted national followings, to see who may lead the party out of the coming wilderness,” said that outlet in a Saturday report.
This comes at a time when the party appears to be shaken, according to a Friday report from POLITICO. It said that centrist members of the Democratic National Committee think the party is too “woke” and one even said she doesn’t want it to become a “freak show party.”
While the committee deals with what POLTICO called “existential concerns,” governors from across the nation are taking action.
Let’s start with California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation the day after President-elect Donald Trump won the election.
“The track record of the first Trump administration, combined with the statements made by President-elect Donald Trump on the campaign trail, as well as statements and policy papers issued by individuals close to his campaign and by Republican congressional leadership, indicate the consequences of his presidency for California may be significant and immediate,” it said. He cited potential limits on reproductive healthcare, a reversal of clean vehicle policies, repealing of deferred action and more.
However, Newsom and other California officials have a plan. In fact, lawyers from the Attorney General’s Office have been preparing for a potential Trump term for more than a year.
“During President Trump’s first term, California developed a successful roadmap for fighting back and standing up for our state’s values and our people’s constitutional rights, including filing more than 120 lawsuits challenging actions taken by the Trump administration,” said the proclamation. Now, its ready to do it again. A special legislative session regarding these plans is scheduled for Dec. 2 in Sacramento.
Moving east, Governor Jared Polis of Colorado and Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois recently launched Governors Safeguarding Democracy (GSD), a nonpartisan alliance of governors that working together to uphold and fortify American democracy.
“We strengthen the foundations of American democracy by catalyzing collaboration across state lines,” said the group website. “Working together, we leverage the collective strength, experience, and institutional knowledge in governors’ offices across the country to craft laws and policies that protect the rule of law and serve the people of our great states. Governors Safeguarding Democracy is supported by GovAct.”
Pritzker was one of several candidates considered by Vice President Kamala Harris to be her running mate before she ultimately selected Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota. In addition to working on Governors Safeguarding Democracy, Pritzker has pledged to maintain Illinois as a “place of stability and competent governance,” where people are “safe and protected,” through work to enshrine reproductive rights, raise wages and more.
“Chaos, retribution, and disarray radiated from the White House the last time Trump occupied it. This time may be different,” he said in an X post.
Pritzker is also wary of Project 2025, which he warned could become part of Trump’s playbook. He’s also stressed that “workers must have a seat at the table during the next administration.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was also one of Harris’ VP contenders.
“I know the pundits will analyze every aspect of this election, but for my part, I’m going to continue to listen to the good people of Pennsylvania, show respect for their choices, and find ways to bring people back together and move the ball down the field to put points on the board for all of us,” he said in a statement regarding the election results.
Shapiro said he plans to focus on getting “stuff done” for the people of his state, though he added that he “will never back down from standing up for the freedoms I was elected to protect.”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is another Democratic state leader who has garnered national attention.
In her post-election statement, Whitmer said: “As we move forward, let’s remember that we are a nation of good, kind people that have more in common with each other than not. Finally, let’s root for the success of the new administration and keep working together to get things done. Because we’re Americans – that’s what we do.”
She has also continued work in her state to deliver for residents.
For example, the launch of 300 free contraception resources throughout Michigan this month.
Jared Leopold, a Democratic strategist and former top official at the Democratic Governors Association, said Newsom, Pritzker, Shapiro and Whitmer are all already household names for most Democrats with four more years to go until the 2028 election, per NBC News. That means they are in a better position than many of the contenders in the 2020 election, which saw President Joe Biden – then well known as former President Barack Obama’s vice president – rise to the top of the heap.
“It will be key to see what the next year or two brings and what the shape of Democratic pushback to Trumpism is,” Leopold said. “That will help determine who’s in a position to lead the party forward.”
He said blue “resistance” to the upcoming Trump administration will look different next year than it did in 2016, when the newly elected Trump failed to win the popular vote. This time, a majority of Americans cast ballots for him.
“People are exhausted, there’s less money, things feel darker. There just isn’t an endless appetite for resistance content right now. So those who are actually interested in running are going to have to be a lot more creative in terms of having an impact and being visible,” Leopold explained.
Margaret Brennan of CBS News’ “Face the Nation” told Audacy this week that Trump and the Republicans have a lot of room to make appointments and work on their initiatives in 2025.
“The Senate is supposed to have an advise and consent role. Now, if the president elect decides once he’s in office to bypass that, which he could do if the Senate, if 50 senators agree to go into recess... he could just appoint people and bypass them,” she said. “Does he want to do that? Would the Senate actually even go into recess? Can they prevent that? This is that tension right off the bat, a power play.”
With his remaining days in office, Biden also has limited ability to make serious change before Trump is back in the Oval Office, Jordan Cash, assistant professor of political theory and constitutional democracy at Michigan State University's James Madison College. Professor, told Audacy.
“For the most part, you don’t see presidents doing a whole lot except for maybe using a lot of pardons and executive clemency,” he said.
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