Politics

We polled Dems on who their leader is. They had no idea.

Published

8 months ago

November 7, 2025

Democrats still don’t have a leader to guide them out of the wilderness.

Seismic victories in a series of off-cycle elections on Tuesday showed the power of an energized liberal base all across the country — and teased at the potential for the Democratic Party to storm back to power. But those wins did not immediately crown a singular leader who can harness that energy.

There are still dozens of competitors for the throne.

The Blue Light News Poll, conducted by Public First in the closing weeks of the election, found a complete lack of consensus among 2024 Kamala Harris voters on an open-ended question: Who do you consider to be the leader of the Democratic Party?

The top response was “I don’t know,” or some similar variation. It made up over one-fifth (21 percent) of responses. “Nobody” garnered an additional 11 percent.

Harris, the former vice president, was the highest person on the list and the only one in double-digits. But she was still named as the party leader by only 16 percent of the people who voted for her last year — a relatively small number given she is the party’s most recent presidential nominee, has made headlines with her book promotion and is considered a potential 2028 contender.

The rest of the top choices spanned an array of party stalwarts, including congressional leaders and former presidents. Few of them are widely considered to be among the 2028 contenders except Harris and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was named by just 6 percent of Harris 2024 voters as the current party leader.

“This is where we are, guys,” said Lauren Harper Pope, a Democratic strategist and co-founder of WelcomePAC, which supports center-left candidates.

The party is divided “factionally and ideologically,” she said: “I couldn’t tell you who the leader of the Democratic Party is, either, and I work in Democratic politics.”

On Tuesday, a divided party that has spent a year licking its wounds in the wake of stunning losses in 2024 found new hope: Democrats romped in a series of statewide and downballot elections in blue and purple states, giving the party a much-needed boost a year after Trump returned to the White House and Republicans seized a governing trifecta in Washington.

In the marquee governors’ races, two moderates — Virginia’s Abigail Spanberger and New Jersey’s Mikie Sherrill — cruised to convincing wins. In California, Newsom’s redistricting gambit paid off. Other lower-profile races across Georgia, Pennsylvania and Virginia showed convincing shifts for Democrats. And in New York City, democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani dominated the mayoral election, sending flashing red lights for Republicans in Washington.

“It felt like we’re getting our footing back, in terms of politics,” said Lanae Erickson, vice president at the centrist-leaning Democratic think tank Third Way.

But those wins alone do not necessarily signal the rise of a new leader, she said: “That has not yet translated to people seeing clearly who they think is pointing the direction of the party.”

The difference could not be more stark between the two major parties: Among Republicans, everyone knows who is in charge.

Among last year’s Trump voters, 81 percent said he’s the party’s current leader. Only 6 percent said they don’t know who the leader is, and 2 percent said “nobody.”

The next top names after Trump were Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Vice President JD Vance, who garnered 3 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

An obvious explanation between the two major parties, of course, is that Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress.

“This is pretty standard for a party that is out of power,” said Jared Leopold, a strategist who previously worked for the Democratic Governors Association. Republicans had no clear leader before Trump emerged in 2016 and Democrats had none until Barack Obama emerged in 2008, Leopold noted.

“The party should be in a, ‘let a thousand flowers bloom’ mold right now,” Leopold added. “Democrats were successful [Tuesday] as a big tent party running on affordability and against Donald Trump. That’s a two-piece equation that will be successful for us as we move toward 2028.”

Politics

European officials accuse FIFA chief of reopening door to Russia

Published

6 minutes ago

July 1, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

BRUSSELS — Forty-four members of the European Parliament are urging FIFA President Gianni Infantino to reverse his decision to allow Russian athletes to play at this year’s inaugural U-15 World Cup in Azerbaijan.

They argue that Russia should not be readmitted to FIFA competitions until it enters peace negotiations with Ukraine, ceases fire and agrees to return children kidnapped from Ukrainian territories.

In a letter obtained by POLITICO, the lawmakers criticize global football body FIFA for ignoring what they described as “around 20,000 Ukrainian children … forcibly kidnapped and separated from their families by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s regime.”

“We urge FIFA to stand on the side of peace and not appease the aggressor – Russia,” the letter reads.

After Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in 2022, FIFA banned Russia from participating in all of its football competitions. FIFA lifted the blanket ban for youth competitions in 2023, but Russian teams have not played in its U-17 World Cups since.

FIFA announced last week its first U-15 World Cup, in which boys and girls will compete this October in Azerbaijan. At the time, the organization announced that the competition would be open to “all FIFA member associations,” opening the door to Russia’s participation.

Infantino said in February that FIFA should lift its ban on Russia, saying that bans “create more hatred.”

The European lawmakers argue that allowing Russia to participate could lead other member countries to boycott the competition, a stance they call “very understandable.” They argue that this would “distort FIFA sporting events, where the principle that the best team wins will no longer prevail.” Ukraine’s football federation has previously said it would not participate in competitions with Russia.

In March of 2022, Russia appealed the FIFA ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The body dismissed Russia’s claim. Russia’s gradual return to other sports has triggered outrage in Ukraine and been denounced by the EU.