Posted December 19, 2025 | by KimS | in 2025 Elections, DemDaily, Democratic Party, DNC Chair Ken Martin, Donald Trump, Presidential Primaries

DemDaily: Democrats Harness Momentum Going Into Midterms

December 19, 2025

A fired-up Democratic National Committee (DNC) met in Los Angeles last week, buoyed by the party's triumphant blue sweep in the November 4 elections and the undeniable momentum heading into the 2026 midterms.

The City of Angels hosted the official Winter meeting, held at the Downtown InterContinental, which brought together some 450 members from every corner of the country and Democrats Abroad to conduct party business, celebrate and plan the path to victory over the next four years.

"2025 was the best off-off-year in the history of the democratic party," with Democrats winning or overperforming in 226 out of 254 key and special elections this year -- nearly 90%. "Over the next year, we will know one speed and one speed only -- all gas and no breaks. We don't cede any ground...If 2025 was about breaking majorities, 2026 is about making majorities... winning isn't the finish line, it is the starting line." - DNC Chair Ken Martin

"2025 was the best off-off-year in the history of the democratic party," with Democrats winning or overperforming in 226 out of 254 key and special elections this year -- nearly 90%. "Over the next year, we will know one speed and one speed only -- all gas and no breaks. We don't cede any ground...If 2025 was about breaking majorities, 2026 is about making majorities... winning isn't the finish line, it is the starting line." - DNC Chair Ken Martin

Indeed, the presence of at least three potential presidential contenders was a reminder that the race for the White House begins with the new year.

California Governor Gavin Newsom received a rock star's reception on Thursday's opening day, with fans scrambling for photos and a handshake throughout his day of meetings with state and national party leaders.

Newsom said he was there to thank DNC members for their help in passing Proposition 50 -- also known as the "Election Rigging Response Act" -- which approved a new temporary congressional map, drawn to help Democrats win five more US House seats in California in 2026.

The ballot measure, which passed with 64% of the vote, is intended to offset Trump's mandate to force mid-term gerrymandering of congressional districts in Republican states, like Texas, where the map can be manipulated to draw new red seats and increase the GOP's narrow majority in the US House. Newsom, who is a potential 2028 presidential contender, has become the fighting face of the unprecedented national partisan redistricting war.

On Thursday, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who has also played a very public role in combating Trump's redistricting scheme and is frequently mentioned as a potential presidential candidate, hosted a star-studded fundraising reception emceed by comedian Conan O'Brien, which raised over $1 million for the DNC.

Billy Crystal, Shonda Rhimes, Martin Short and Jane Fonda were among the attendees, as were Rob Reiner and his wife Michele, whom would be tragically killed just days later on December 14.

Former Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris delivered Friday's keynote to chants of "Kamala, Kamala!" Fresh off a tour for her bestselling, somewhat controversial memoir, "107 Days," the former Golden State Senator touted the wins of 2025, while warning fellow Democrats of the mission ahead.

"We must also have a clear vision for what comes after the midterms and then after Trump. We need to answer the question, 'What comes next for our party and our democracy?' We must be honest that for so many, the American dream has become more of a myth than a reality...against the backdrop of a political system that appears to not only be fractured, but broken. Both parties have failed to hold the public's trust. And they are not wrong...The work ahead requires us to reinvent, to innovate, to inspire and understand that the task before us is not just a political project...It must be a project of civic renewal... saying the stakes have never been higher, but we are cleareyed with grit, determination, and fire that this moment demands." - Former VP Kamala Harris

"We must also have a clear vision for what comes after the midterms and then after Trump. We need to answer the question, 'What comes next for our party and our democracy?' We must be honest that for so many, the American dream has become more of a myth than a reality...against the backdrop of a political system that appears to not only be fractured, but broken. Both parties have failed to hold the public's trust. And they are not wrong...The work ahead requires us to reinvent, to innovate, to inspire and understand that the task before us is not just a political project...It must be a project of civic renewal... saying the stakes have never been higher, but we are cleareyed with grit, determination, and fire that this moment demands." - Former VP Kamala Harris

Other potential White House aspirants in attendance or spotted at the LA meeting include former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who was appearing on Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show, former White House chief of staff and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Former President Barack Obama, who headlined a LA fundraiser Sunday with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), urged the party to "unify" and to "meet the moment" as it looks to the upcoming elections.

In his remarks, Obama stressed that Democrats' short-term strategy must first focus on winning back the House of Representatives in 2026 before refining the party’s broader message to voters over time.

Of internal ideological divisions, Obama described them as "nerdy" disagreements that shouldn't distract from the much "bigger fight." On the long term, he said, "let’s tell a story, a better story about who we are as Americans and what we share. We have to tell the story that makes people who feel outside that process, we’ve got to bring them back in.”

Following Martin's promise of "all gas and no breaks," the DNC on Monday announced the launch of the Battleground Leadership Project and BlueMatch programs, a six-figure investment to recruit and train Coordinated Campaign Directors and Organizing Directors to begin at the start of 2026 in key battleground states.

Separately, yesterday, the DNC announced that it will not be publishing its planned "autopsy" or postmortem report on the party's losses in the 2024 election.

Although the inquiry, which included hundreds of interviews, is complete, Martin said there is no value in a public release of findings that could lead to continued "infighting and recriminations" before the 2026 midterms. In his own "meet the moment" decision, Martin said, “Does this help us win? If the answer is no, it’s a distraction from the core mission.”