Republicans may not be firing on all cylinders, but Democrats are hardly in better form.
With gas prices climbing and the Iran-U.S. conflict showing no signs of resolution, the GOP faces real headwinds heading into the 2026 midterms. Yet while Trump and his party absorb most of the scrutiny, the disarray within the Democratic Party has gone largely unexamined.
In recent weeks, a frail Joe Biden has reemerged to offer endorsements, party insiders continue to battle over the direction of the DNC, and the Left remains without a recognizable leader, a full 15 months after Biden vacated the White House. Shortly after leaving office, Biden announced he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer and has kept a relatively low profile over the past year.
With no clear leader, former President Barack Obama, who left office a decade ago, has indicated that he will step up and take the reins, Politico reports. The former president is expected to hit the campaign trail for the Democrats, especially as more critical primaries get closer. (RELATED: What Has Joe Biden Been Up To?)
Just one week before Obama’s announcement, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) was arguing over who should lead the organization. According to the Bulwark, Democrat insiders have been discussing trying to remove Chairman Ken Martin from his post, but had to put the plan on hold after they failed to find someone to take his place.
Panic within the party has continued to grow, the outlet reported. At the end of March, the DNC had raised $11.4 million compared to the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) $21.2 million, ABC News reported.
The RNC also has almost eight times more cash on hand than the Democrats do, with $116 million compared to the DNC’s $13.8 million. The Democrats are also still dealing with $18 million in debt.
I genuinely feel bad for DNC Chair Ken Martin.
The autopsy almost certainly says something to the effect of: Democrats lost in 2024 due to a combination of economic dissatisfaction, incumbent fatigue, Kamala’s unpopularity, concerns over crime and immigration, and overreach on… https://t.co/M82czD1yvq
— Jesse Arm (@Jesse_Leg) May 8, 2026
The cash problem has led to tension at the DNC, with ABC News reporting that some Democrats are frustrated with how Martin spent money on the 2024 election.
Insiders have started discussing other ways they could reform the DNC, including a resolution that “would require Martin to rein in the DNC’s spending and balance its budget,” the Bulwark reported.
“I think that would be a very hard job, no matter who has it. But [Martin] seems to be uniquely ill-suited for it,” Democratic strategist Jesse Lehrich told the outlet. “The Pod Save interview was mind-blowing to me.” Martin recently appeared on the popular Democrat podcast, “Pod Save America” to defend himself amid the disarray in the party.
“[Kamala Harris] is being encouraged to run by a lot of people around her and by a lot of people around the country,” Rev. Al Sharpton told NBC News. “She is definitely getting a lot of push, and I think it will ultimately impact her decision.” https://t.co/zKTrlv2dSO
— Reagan Reese (@reaganreese_) May 7, 2026
Former Vice President Kamala Harris added to Martin’s troubles with some headlines of her own. Behind closed doors, Harris has been telling donors she wants Martin to release the autopsy of her 2024 campaign, NBC News reported. Martin has reportedly indicated that he wants to keep the report “under wraps.”
The former vice president has also told those in her orbit she wants to weigh in on Middle East policy (which has been a big issue for the Trump administration), but not before the 2026 midterms, sources told the outlet.
While Harris continues to weigh another presidential bid in private, popping up occasionally for her book tour, party insiders are weighing whether it is wise to nominate a woman or person of color for president in 2028, NBC News reported. The party insiders are worry such could result in a loss.
According to NBC News, some Dem insiders are starting to think if they nominate another woman or person of color for president in 2028 they are destined to lose. https://t.co/zKTrlv2dSO pic.twitter.com/CHDg3lMU5I
— Reagan Reese (@reaganreese_) May 7, 2026
“Proving electability will again be tricky, though, for Harris and any nonwhite, non-male candidate,” Ali Vitali, an MS Now host and author of the book ‘Electable: Why America Hasn’t Put a Woman in the White House … Yet,’ told the outlet.
“Candidates do exist in the context of the moment they run in, so female candidates — fairly or not — will have to prove they can win,” Vitali added. “Maybe it’s as simple as reminding voters anyone is electable if you vote for them.”
Somehow, Biden returned. https://t.co/SsLLBWhWpe pic.twitter.com/zQqOc3Awob
— Semafor (@semafor) May 5, 2026
Biden has also reentered the political scene, making several endorsements of former staffers. When Biden left office, his approval rating was below 40%, Semafor reported. Some believe Harris’ inability to separate herself from Biden during the 2024 campaign is what tanked her presidential bid.
“I think, with Trump’s aggression, people even more so realize that his leadership, both as a person and from his policies, are sorely missed,” Dan Koh, a former Biden White House staffer who is running for a House seat in Massachusetts, told Semafor.
On the economy, some voters are feeling that way. According to a national Harvard-Harris poll from March, 62% of voters blamed Trump for the economy’s decline, and a majority, 53%, thought things were worse than they were under Biden.
“The Democratic candidates and party leaders who saw through the endless yelling about his age — and stayed focused on what he actually delivered for the American people — are the ones earning his endorsement,” Nebraska Democratic Party chair Jane Fleming Kleeb told Semafor.
She insisted, “And they will win their elections, because voters see the good Joe Biden did for our party’s infrastructure and for our country’s infrastructure.”