All smiles for Democrats... but party is set for fierce ideological battle

The party is resurgent but split over its future, while Republicans fear Trump has lost touch, writes Hugh Tomlinson in Washington

- Hugh Tomlinson

After a year of soul-searching in the political wilderness as approval ratings plumbed historic lows, US Democrats bounced back with a string of landmark victories last week.

Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist, was elected the first Muslim mayor of New York with the highest turnout for more than half a century. Moderate Democrats Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill took back the keys to the governors' mansions with handsome victories in Virginia and New Jersey. And in California, voters overwhelmingly approved a new congressional map that will boost Democratic hopes of winning back the House of Representatives at next year's midterms.

But it was the raft of "down-ballot" victories in swing states like Pennsylvania and Georgia that has convinced Democratic leaders that they have hit on a blueprint for victory in 2026 and beyond. Running on the cost of living crisis, Democrats even broke the Republican supermajority in deep-red Mississippi, flipping three seats in the state assembly.

In a memo to party members, Ken Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, pledged to run in 2026 as the "party of affordability". While Trump dragged the US into a "gilded recession", distracted by his $300m White House ballroom and quest for a Nobel prize, Democrats would campaign on lowering costs for working families, he said.