Democratic spirits were higher than the altitude in Denver, where more than 3,000 party strategists, activists, lawmakers and potential presidential candidates gathered last week to strategize how the party could capitalize on its dominant showing in the midterm elections.
Democrats flipped at least eight Senate seats while also securing what could be the largest House majority in a national election for either party in three decades.
“America is back,” Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the speaker-in-waiting, beamed at one welcome party.
For a party that is often fractious, there seemed little discord in Denver. Some of the loudest jeering over the three-day event came when the lights at the Ritz-Carlton hotel bar brightened and hundreds of drinking Democrats booed in unison at the thought of it closing.
Here are eight takeaways from the gathering.
Everyone (practically) is running for president.
More than a half-dozen potential Democratic presidential candidates descended on Denver to make early pitches for themselves and their visions. They were not technically campaigning — at least not yet. But they were all eager to share how much they had to give to the country.
At one point on Friday, Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania was speaking on the main stage while Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan was taking questions from reporters. Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona was nearby, too, waiting to speak to the media.
Later, Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia gave a speech, then stayed to listen to Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey address the crowd. And Pete Buttigieg, the former transportation secretary, was sought after — especially after a rare nationwide ground stop was issued.
The pileup of hopefuls previewed what could be a crowded campaign.
The conference was hosted by Majority Democrats, a relatively new group that espouses a less ideological brand of Democratic politics and focuses on recruiting younger candidates. The group is funded chiefly by the hedge-fund billionaire Stephen Mandel and his wife, Sue. But billionaires still found themselves in the cross hairs of some progressives.
Representative Ro Khanna of California, who is considering a presidential run, called for a wealth tax on billionaires and accused Israel of a genocide to cheers.
Shapiro steps further into the spotlight.
Since Mr. Shapiro has rarely left Pennsylvania this year, his presence alone in Denver was notable. But on Friday, he spoke about his ambitions for the party — and his role in its future — both in his speech and an interview. He called it imperative for Democrats to construct a party that could win “370 electoral votes” — not just the 270 needed to win the presidency.
“We can’t be a party that is focused on sloganeering,” Mr. Shapiro said in an interview. “We have to be a party that’s focused on real deliverables.”
He said that the party can’t become “distracted by the shallow litmus test or trying to figure out where someone fits on some imaginary political spectrum.”
The 2028 calendar is going to upend the primary season.
For many years, the Democratic presidential primary began in Iowa and New Hampshire, and then went to South Carolina. No longer.
In 2028, six early states will open the primary calendar: South Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Michigan and Virginia.
Officials in Michigan, Virginia and New Mexico are already plotting how to take advantage of the new attention, circulating among ambitious Democrats on the sidelines of the conference.
For instance, Mr. Buttigieg ate Friday night with Don Scott, the House speaker in Virginia, which will hold the final primary before Super Tuesday. Mr. Scott said he told Mr. Buttigieg to start meeting with local leaders now if he wanted to be competitive in Virginia.
Slotkin is “seriously” considering a run.
Shapiro. Gallego. Warnock. Booker. Khanna. Buttigieg.
Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois had aides and advisers circulating in Denver. So did Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland.
All those potential 2028 candidates — as well as Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, who was attending a climate summit in Turkey — are men.
Although women seem less certain to run, some could chase the Democratic nomination. That group includes former Vice President Kamala Harris, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ms. Slotkin, who gave the clearest indications yet that she was considering a run, saying in an interview that she was “seriously” weighing a bid.
Although she said that gender was not reason alone to run for the nation’s highest office, she added it was hard to ignore the possibility of the party being represented by only men in the primary.
“I would hate to see us go backwards by having no women enter the fray,” she said. Later, she said, “I know I want to be a part of the next generation that is helping to lead. That doesn’t necessarily mean I have to be the top dog.”
The next Democratic fight is for Senate majority leader.
Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland arrived in Denver a day after declaring his underdog candidacy to unseat Senator Chuck Schumer of New York as the top Democrat in the Senate.
He received loud cheers when he restated his intention to the crowd, but Mr. Van Hollen is unlikely to succeed. One conference attendee came wearing a “Van Hollen For Leader” shirt modeled after the Van Halen logo but did not want to discuss on the record his support for the Maryland Democrat.
Mr. Van Hollen is an unlikely avatar of trying to upend the political status quo. He told reporters that he had “a record of running against the establishment,” while also noting in the same answer that he had served as chairman of both the House Democratic campaign arm and the Senate Democratic campaign arm.
“What has never changed about me is that I still believe we can support the underdog,” Mr. Van Hollen said.
Hakeem Jeffries gets heckled.
In a small sign of frustration with the party’s old guard, Mr. Jeffries was repeatedly heckled while speaking onstage with Jessica Tarlov, a co-host of Fox News’s “The Five.” Mr. Jeffries waved off the hecklers dismissively by noting he was from Brooklyn.
“They didn’t win over a single person, but at least they got their clips for social,” Ms. Tarlov said afterward.
The attention economy is the new political currency.
Ms. Slotkin said one of the most important qualities for a candidate in this media landscape was simply being compelling.
“The way citizens consume presidential elections is fundamentally changing,” she said. “I’m not sure we’ll ever have a boring president ever again.”
She just watched Abdul El-Sayed, a charismatic progressive, succeed in Michigan. And after a cycle in which a deluge of Republican cash failed to yield much return on the party’s investments, Democrats debated on the sidelines whether paid ads were as important as earning organic attention and riding the algorithm of social media.
“You can have all the great policy papers you want,” Ms. Slotkin said. “If you can’t convey authentically, that’s going to hold you back. And I think that’s actually OK.”
The start of the 2028 primaries is almost upon us.
There was broad agreement among the could-be presidential candidates — and the Democrats who might work for them — that the time for choosing was near.
The competition for attention, donors and top staff is already steep. Many Democrats in Denver spoke of the relative dearth of top operatives who were eager to dedicate themselves to the rigors of a presidential primary campaign — especially with so many new Democratic congressional offices also staffing up.
Mr. Shapiro said he might announce his decision even before he tried to enact a robust agenda in the first 100 days with new Democratic state legislative majorities. Ms. Slotkin said she would decide early next year. And Mr. Warnock, who may have to choose between running for president and seeking Senate re-election in 2028, said nobody could dawdle.
“I don’t think there’s much time for anybody who thinks they want to do this,” he said.
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