There is a leadership vacuum in the Democratic Party

Daniela Altimari, Tribune News Service

The “squad” has shrunk. Nancy Pelosi, at 84, is approaching the twilight of her long political career. And House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries? More than 40% of Americans have no idea who he is, a recent Pew Research Center poll found. What Republicans need is a new boogeyman. Gone are the days when the party could drag down Democratic opponents with pithy attack ads asserting they walked in lockstep with Pelosi, the former speaker, or were aligned with the squad, a bloc of House progressives who wielded influence before electoral losses thinned their ranks. But the lack of a clear Democratic villain isn’t just a challenge for Republican ad makers. It’s a sign of a leadership vacuum within the Democratic Party, which controls neither the House, the Senate nor the White House. “This is a typical problem when a party badly loses an election,” said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist who has worked on Senate and presidential campaigns. “There’s no obvious leader of the Democratic Party right now, which makes it hard to put a face on the opposition.”

For the past few years, that role was partly played by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the highest-profile member of the squad and one of the most recognizable stars on the left. At times, the ire against her has veered beyond standard opposition ads and into personal attacks.

“The efficacy of Pelosi had been waning for some time, so Republicans adjusted, and that coincided with the rise of AOC and the squad,” said Matt Gorman, a veteran GOP operative and onetime spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “You saw the squad [become] the prototype of what voters don’t like about the Democratic Party.” Other prominent squad members who’ve taken turns as GOP targets include Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. But the group may have lost some clout after two members, Reps. Jamaal Bowman of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri, lost primaries to more moderate Democrats last year. Some Republicans see potential campaign-ad villains in media-savvy House progressives such as Jasmine Crockett of Texas and Robert Garcia of California, who have perfected the art of going viral. Others predict that a video of Texas Rep. Al Green heckling President Donald Trump during his joint address before Congress last week will find its way into Republican attack ads. “There are some next-generation Democrats who are very liberal who Republicans are going to feature in their ads,” Conant said. Garcia, a onetime Young Republican turned Congressional Progressive Caucus member, said recently that he plans to hold town hall-style meetings in GOP-held districts. The announcement came after NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson reportedly advised fellow House Republicans to forgo such in-person events, some of which have drawn constituents angry over Trump’s policy changes.

The NRCC has already homed in on Crockett, dubbing her the Democrats’ “messaging czar.” The second-term Dallas-area congresswoman garnered attention for her alliterative dressing down of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., last year and a verbal tussle with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., in January. She spoke at the Democratic National Convention and has become a fixture on cable news. Crockett has “been all over the NRCC socials,” said Mike Marinella, the committee’s national spokesman. “In no way are we targeting her district ... but (she’s) making it easy for us.” The lack of obvious leaders on the Democratic side “is a true crisis for them,” Marinella added. “We’re just kind of picking the loudest ones and having fun with it.”

Political punching bags are a key part of modern campaigns, on both sides, and demonizing the opposition helps parties raise money and win votes. “It can be very effective,” said Travis Ridout, a political science professor who studies campaign ads as co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project. “You make people angry, you make people anxious: ‘The world is going to end unless you give us money.’” Trump is still taking aim at familiar targets. During his joint address, he mentioned Joe Biden 13 times, even though the former president’s days as an elected official are over. Trump also called out another favorite Democratic target, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and hurled a familiar insult in her direction.

House Democrats are gathering outside Washington this week to chart a course forward after last year’s bruising electoral losses. Notably, governors are well-represented among the rising stars addressing the caucus’ annual issues conference, including Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro and Kentucky’s Andy Beshear. The party’s brand is so tarnished that just 27% of voters in battleground House districts believe Democrats are focused on helping them, compared with 55% who said they’re focused on others, according to a poll conducted by the Democratic group Navigator Research. Still, Democrats have an abundance of boogeymen to choose from this cycle, from Trump himself to high-profile MAGA stalwarts such as Greene, Mace and Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert.